Santa Clara, Calif. – Intel Corp. will consider investing hundreds of millions of dollars more in companies that use a new high-speed wireless technology, part of a plan to spur sales of computers.
The world’s largest semiconductor maker may back companies using WiMax, a mobile Internet standard Intel is promoting, vice president Sriram Viswanathan said. The investments may match the size of Intel’s $600 million stake in WiMax proponent Clearwire Corp., he said.
“There are a half-dozen opportunities like what we did with Clearwire on my desk that my team is evaluating,” Viswanathan said. “We’re absolutely open to larger deals. You put your money where your mouth is as much as you can.”
Intel plans to speed the creation of WiMax networks, expecting the faster adoption to bolster chip sales as consumers and businesses trade in their laptops to get access to faster Web connections. When the company pursued a similar strategy with an older wireless technology, revenue rose more than 10 percent.
WiMax, similar to the current wireless fidelity, or Wi-Fi, networks, creates an area where electronic devices can wirelessly connect to the Internet. While Wi-Fi “hot spots” usually cover a coffee shop or home, WiMax can encompass entire cities.
The top range is 30 miles, meaning one tower could cover downtown San Francisco.
Intel bought a 20 percent stake in Kirkland, Wash.- based Clearwire in July 2006, the largest holding of the chipmaker’s investment division, to help the company build a network with the technology.
Clearwire, founded by Craig McCaw, and Sprint Nextel Corp., the third-largest U.S. mobile-phone service company, said two weeks ago that they plan to build a WiMax network that covers 100 million people by the end of 2008.
