Sprint sets up Taiwan WiMax testing lab

Sprint Nextel and the government of Taiwan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that allows the US WiMax operator to set up an interoperability testing (IOT) laboratory in Taiwan.

Sprint will use the lab to facilitate the testing and certification of WiMax products.

The lab - the first of its kind in the world outside the US - will also be used by Taiwanese equipment suppliers to shorten the time it takes WiMax products to go to market.

This will help them compete against rivals and save them money as they will no longer have to ship products overseas for testing.

WiMax, or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a type of high speed wireless broadband that allows users to access wireless internet whilst on the go.

It was first launched in Baltimore, US, by Sprint Nextel, and has been adopted as the standard for mobile broadband in Taiwan.

VMAX Telecom is set to become the first Taiwanese operator to launch the service in the first half of 2009.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) expects WiMax to take off globally in 2009, a year in which Sprint predicts US WiMax users to hit 60 million.