WiMAX Forum also announced that it is in the early stages of planning a WiMAX Applications Lab at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. With successful applications labs already running in Taiwan and the US, this third lab is set to add even more diversity to the group of developers already in the WiMAX fold. IIT Delhi has a functioning WiMAX test bed and serves as an ideal location to host this lab. Created with the backing of the Indian industry and DoT, this lab will focus on enhancing WiMAX quality of experience and WiMAX community services for underserved areas. IIT Delhi already has active programs examining IT Community services, including telemedicine, distance learning and e-government. These applications are of particular interest to the Indian market, and will be explored more fully through the creation of this lab.
"WiMAX is a powerful technology that is available today to provide Indian-society centric applications like telemedicine, distance education, e-governance, etc. for urban, suburban, and rural development," added Resnick. "Imagine students from rural India taking classes from far away institutions in their homes, or sick farmers being diagnosed by top-notch physicians hundreds of miles away -- these applications can all be powered by WiMAX, and we are building the capacity to research and develop them here in India."
The WiMAX Forum is made up of more than 530 member companies who are committed to the success of the WiMAX standard. WiMAX Forum membership consists of 144 ecosystem content developers, 162 service providers, 92 silicon component manufacturers and 131 system vendors.
Currently more than 35 WiMAX Forum member companies produce WiMAX base stations, 30 companies provide PC Cards, USB modems, MIDs, and other personal devices, 25 companies provide chipsets and reference designs, and seven of the top eight global device manufacturers are developing WiMAX products.
WiMAX Forum Certified Mobile WiMAX products in the 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz bands were released this year. By the end of the year WiMAX Forum expects to certify products within the 3.5 GHz band as well. The WiMAX Forum estimates that by 2011 there will be more than 1,000 Mobile WiMAX Certified products.