Intel's CEO says WiMAX competitive with DSL, cable

May 05, 2005

Chief Executive Craig Barrett said on Friday that new wireless high-speed data technologies would be competitive with Internet links provided by cable and phone companies.

In a conference call with Reuters reporters, Barrett said most telephone digital subscriber lines and cable broadband connections were not fast enough.

"Most of us who have DSL or cable at home do not have good broadband but kind of half-ass broadband, which doesn't really allow for good streaming video or that kind of stuff," he said.

Few home broadband connections today offer higher download speeds than five megabits per second, and Barrett said good broadband -- which would be capable of delivering high-quality video transmission -- should be able to move at least 10 megabits per second.

WiMAX, which should be capable of 50 megabits to 100 megabits per second, is "significantly better than what we typically look at with DSL and cable," Barrett said. "I think that will be very competitive with those technologies, and especially where those technologies aren't built out, in rural areas.

"Will it compete with wired access? Absolutely. Will it be perhaps the only broadband solution you have in some areas? Absolutely, especially in rural areas."

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