Intel Capital Funds Aicent’s WiMAX Initiative

Intel Corp.'s (INTC) investment arm is looking to the future. The chipmaker’s Intel Capital division has pumped $3 million worth of financing into Aicent Inc..

Aicent, which runs a multimedia messaging exchange for cellcos, made the announcement on Tuesday. Aicent’s network is unique in that it enables consumers to retrieve their messages when roaming.

But that's not what's interesting. The eyebrow-raiser here is that the Intel Capital funds will make sure Aicent's technology works with WiMAX. Intel has been pursuing WiMAX for several years now, through partnerships with and investments in companies, including Motorola Inc. (MOT), Nokia Siemens Networks (NOK), Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) and others.

The question now is when WiMAX will be a viable technology. Juniper Research says mobile WiMAX will boast more than 80 million subscribers by 2013. That's less than five years away and we're still waiting for tests to end and real-world use to begin, something even the technology’s proponents will admit, albeit with an optimistic spin.

“Momentum for WiMAX is strong, with more than 300 fixed and mobile WiMAX trials and commercial deployments in over 100 countries,” said Ranjeet Alexis, senior director at Intel Capital.

Aicent said it will use the Intel Capital money to push its 3G and 4G data roaming projects.

Source:

VentureBeat:  Aicent gets Intel Capital funding for wireless roaming technology

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