CMPnetAsia.com

Intel next week is introducing a client chipset that supports both the fixed and mobile versions of the wireless broadband technology known as WiMax.

Arguably WiMax's biggest cheerleader, the company is working to make the case for the technology with a chipset roadmap that targets devices ranging from video games to digital cameras -- the idea being that if the clients are there, the carriers will come.

For those of you just joining us: WiMax comes in two basic flavors -- one for fixed wireless and one for mobile. The fixed version, handily known as 802.16d-2004, was designed to be a replacement or supplement for broadband cable access or DSL. A more recently ratified version, 802.16e-2005, also can support fixed wireless applications, but it allows for roaming among base stations as well. Thus the two standards are generally known as "fixed WiMax" and "mobile WiMax."