In a bid to strengthen its WiMAX market position, Nortel Networks teamed up with device-maker ZyXEL Communications for PCMCIA cards and other customer premise equipment, such as residential gateways.
Nortel said it plans to work with ZyXEL, along with chipmakers Runcom and Sequans to expand its WiMAX offering.
"Our total solution will include devices essential to easy uptake of WiMAX services," said Stone Tseng, director, WiMAX 4G Ecosystem, Nortel. "Simple CPE connectivity devices like PCMCIA cards, USB dongles, indoor and outdoor CPE with Ethernet and VoIP options will be available in the coming months, but that's just the beginning. Nortel will continue to work with various ecosystem partners to bring handsets, smart phones, PDAs and other advanced WiMAX devices to market over the next 12 to 24 months."
The move comes after months of apparent struggles at Nortel to win WiMAX contracts as other suppliers as Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks and Samsung racked up deals with Sprint Nextel to provide end-to-end solutions for the carrier's nationwide WiMAX buildout.
"The development of a complete WiMAX ecosystem, including infrastructure, chipsets and devices, is integral to the real world success of WiMAX technology," said Peter MacKinnon, general manager, Nortel WiMAX and Wireless Mesh and chairman, LG-Nortel JV.