Fujitsu, Taiwan to Form WiMax Joint Venture

Fujitsu and Taiwan's Institute for Information Industry plan to form a joint venture concerning WiMax technology, the Japanese company said Tuesday.

WiMax is a high-speed wireless data technology that's part of the IEEE 802.16 specification. It can deliver multi-megabit per second data rates to both fixed and mobile users. Commercial WiMax services are already available in several countries and other nations are planning to launch them soon.

Details of the deal will be disclosed at a Tokyo news conference planned for 8 a.m. GMT Tuesday. At the same event a memorandum of understanding for the venture will be signed by the two parties. Fujitsu's chairman and president will attend as will Taiwanese Minister of State Lin Ferng-Ching and the president of the Institute for Information Industry.

Last week The Nikkei newspaper reported the deal will see the two parties develop a WiMax chip for use in PCs, cell phones and other digital devices.