Intel calls on WiMAX technology as a digital enabler for boosting growing economies

'Governments, industries and private corporations can reap many benefits by adopting WiMAX technology,' said Abdulaziz Al- Noghaither, Intel Country Manager Saudi Arabia.

'Governments can upgrade their telecom and Internet infrastructure without the high cost involved with running cables and fiber optics across vast space of land. Signal towers are used to send wireless transmitted data from point to point and allow videos of patients in remote villages to be sent to doctors in main hospitals, or connect schools, civic building and people to the internet. From a business point of view, the technology can also be used to deliver information to and from remote areas such as offshore rigs and high altitude mines.'

In the Middle East, working with partners, Intel used WiMAX technology to demonstrate the benefits cities and countries can reap for its implementation. Last April, the Riyadh Development Authority went live with the first stage of its 'Smart City' programme by switching on the WiMAX transceivers on Tahlia Street in downtown Riyadh, bringing wireless Internet to the city's main coffee shops and hotels. The wireless system begins working when someone turns on a computer and connecting is free of charge.

The relationship between Intel and KFUPM is not a new one. In July 2006 Intel inaugurated its state of the art energy competency laboratory in Dhahran in association with KFUPM. The Lab, part of Dhahran Technology Valley, laid the foundation for a specialized centre in oil, gas, petrochemicals applications and software, and aims at reinforcing ongoing cooperation between the University and Intel Corporation as part of Intel's World Ahead Initiative in the region.

Through the Intel World Ahead Program, Intel aims to enhance lives by accelerating access to uncompromised technology for everyone, anywhere in the world. Intel focuses its efforts to advance progress in four areas namely accessibility, content, education and connectivity.

WiMAX - Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access - is an emerging wireless networking technology, based on a global, open standard that complements and improves existing methods of sending and receiving large amounts of data over the Internet without the need for wires. Fixed WiMAX can provide high-speed Internet services to remote areas that can be difficult to service cost effectively via traditional cable or copper-wire infrastructure. With a longer range than the popular Wi-Fi wireless standard, WiMAX enabled laptops and portable devices will give mobile workers even more freedom to get a fast and affordable Internet connection wherever they are.