Jul 29, 2005 1:02 PM, By Donny Jackson

CHICAGO—Motorola this week introduced its 802.16e product portfolio known as Wi4, which is designed to meld WiMAX and 4G technologies that can deliver 300 Mb/s in a fully mobile environment.

Motorola, which recently announced a WiMAX trial with Sprint, sees Wi4 as an offering that can deliver “coverage comparable to a cellular tower” at substantial cost savings, Motorola exhibitor Paul Sargeant said.

“I think WiMAX is going to change the game,” Sargeant said in the demonstration area at Motorola’s analyst conference. “I think we’re going to see new competitors.”

Motorola’s Wi4 solutions will use all-IP access technology and peer-to-peer architecture that will eliminate the need for a great deal of equipment used in legacy cellular networks. In addition to its tower-based solutions, Motorola also unveiled a “zero footprint” base station solution that fits in a backpack, allowing Wi4 to be deployed in almost any setting.

Customers using Motorola’s Canopy wireless broadband solutions will be able to upgrade to the WiMAX standard with a software upgrade, said John DeFeo, corporate vice president of information technology for Motorola’s government and enterprise mobility solutions business.

In other wireless network news, Motorola announced its largest Canopy equipment deal to date, with SMART Communications in the Philippines. In addition, the Motorola said it has won a contract to deploy a CDMA EV-DO network for U.S. mobile wireless carrier Alltel.

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