WiMAX was recently added as a global standard for mobile devices by the U.N. telecommunication agency. According to analysts, this acceptance will probably create interest in the development of the wireless technology which will eventually lower hardware costs.

While this move was met with opposition from China because it wanted its own wireless broadband standard to be accepted as the global standard, U.S. officials fought for the IMT-2000 and other high-speed mobile network changes. White House expert on science and technology Richard M. Russell commented on their stand regarding this:

We strongly believe in an approach that includes as many technologies as possible, within the appropriate technical parameters, because diversity will lead to greater competition, lower prices and more benefits to consumers.

The companies which supported WiMAX in its early stages, such as Intel Corp., Samsung, Motorola, and Nokia, were understandably thrilled by this turn of events. The general manager of Intel's WiMax business and vice president of Intel Capital Sriram Viswanathan spoke about this saying that "We're super, super, super thrilled. We've been at this for the last three years, and it was a very, very extensive amount of work with a lot of players in the industry."

For those who aren't familiar with WiMAX, it is a telecommunications technology which allows users to send information wirelessly over long distances. With data transfer rates of up to 70 megabits per second and has an effective range of up to 40 miles, this technology is seen by many as the next step in high speed internet access. With the way things are going, it looks like it might very well be.