Startup Promises Pre-Standard WiMAX Mobility

A startup came out of stealth mode last week saying that it will offer wireless broadband systems based on the unratified 802.16e standard for mobile wireless broadband. That 802.16e substandard of the larger 802.16 or WiMAX standard isn't expected to be ratified until the end of 2005. However, Adaptix, Inc. headquartered in Bothell, Washington, indicated will launch its wireless broadband products sooner, although it gave no specific details about the launch.

Adaptix said it owned patents on some of the technology to be used in its system. The company also said it is a member of the WiMAX Forum, an industry group set up to commercialize the technology.

The company said in a statement that its system will be "software driven, providing high modularity and granular control over the critical operational aspects in wireless communications delivery." It said its system will integrate seamlessly with the existing infrastructure used by wireless carriers and that it operates in either licensed or unlicensed spectrum in frequency bands between 700 MHz and 6 GHz. It will have a range of as far as 30 kilometers, the company said.

Specifically, Adaptix said its system is a "software-defined radio" solution that it claimed in its statement will "future-proof" carriers and service providers that adopt its technology.

"Ultimately, Adaptix is a software company, pioneering in both software defined radio technologies and leveraging our patent pending interference tolerant and frequency adaptive techniques," Vern Fotheringham, Adaptix' CEO said in a statement.The company said its system is based on its FastSwitching Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access technology, for which it said it has patents pending.

Other companies have started offering equipment based on pre-standard versions of 802.16, but Adaptix is the first to offer pre-standard mobile WiMAX equipment.