Fujitsu to develop WiMAX chips in Taiwan

Japanese electronics company Fujitsu is expected to announce today a partnership with the Taiwanese government to jointly develop WiMAX chips in Taiwan, according to the Financial Times. The two will create a joint venture research facility in Taiwan, which Fujitsu and the Institute for Information Industry will fund. The institute is a technology research body jointly funded by government and industry in Taiwan. Taiwan has become the hotbed for WiMAX as electronics companies jump on the opportunity early and companies like Sprint, Nortel and Alcatel-Lucent have worked to foster the WiMAX ecosystem there.

How important is WiMAX to Taiwan's electronics companies? Just read this quote from Shen Jung-chin, a senior official with Taiwan's Ministry for Economic Affairs: "Currently, we make most of the world's IT equipment, but others set the standards. By jumping in really early in WiMAX, we hope to have a role in setting standards and be able to receive, rather than pay, royalties in the future."

To find out more about Fujitsu's WiMAX chip plans in Taiwan:
- read this article from the Financial Times

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