Motorola to set up first global WiMAX IOT in Taiwan

Motorola will soon set up its first WiMAX IOT (interoperability testing) center worldwide in Taiwan, fulfilling the commitment of an MOU it signed with Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in October 2007 aimed at helping foster the development of the WiMAX industry in Taiwan, said Simon Liang, president of Asia Pacific at Motorola, recently in Taipei.

With the establishment of the IOT, Motorola aims to build up a WiMAX ecosystem alongside with Taiwan-based companies to develop related products for notebooks, handsets, CPE (customer premise equipment) products and LCD panels for international markets, Liang stated.

Leveraging the well-established PC and handset ecosystems in Taiwan, Motorola can cooperate with Taiwan makers to develop external WiMAX network cards, GSM/WiMAX dual-mode handsets, VoIP handsets and other WiMAX CPE products, Liang explained.

Motorola has lead other vendors in the global WiMAX market by securing a total of 19 WiMAX contracts from WiMAX operators in 16 countries around the globe, Liang claimed.

Asked if Motorola has plans to commit equity investment in Taiwan's licensed WiMAX operators, Liang said that Motorola's investment in WiMAX operators may conflict with the role of equipment supplier that the company has been playing.

Motorola's investment in Clearwire in the US is an exception which was aimed at boosting the development of an emerging industry at its early stage, Liang explained.

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