Intel predicted three years of solid development in wireless broadband on Tuesday, as it showed the first samples of its Rosedale 802.16 WiMax chip.

Installed in a device to be called Intel's ProWireless 5116 Broadband Interface, the chip combines all of the functions of a WiMax device except the radio itself. The first products with the chip will become available next year, executives said at the Intel Developer Forum here, and will cost below US$200.

Combining wired Ethernet, security and other interface functions, the Rosedale processor is designed to quickly integrate into equipment and reduce the time needed for certification.

"Rosedale is the first generation of the technology and will do last-mile fixed access to the home" said Scott Richardson, general manager of Intel's Broadband Wireless Group. "In 2006, we'll see notebook integration for portability and in 2007, handsets for mobility."

In time, Richardson said, prices for WiMax hardware would be the same as for Wi-Fi products. "We're sampling the chip with strategic partners," he said. "Interoperability and other tests will take place over the next six-to-nine months, with deployment starting later in 2005."

WiMax will spread around the globe on a mixture of frequencies, Richardson said, using a combination of licensed and unlicensed bands on 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz and 5GHz. "WiMax is viral, in that over time, more and more frequencies will be opened up," he said.

He predicted that WiMax would migrate to bands currently used for terrestrial television. "Nirvana for wireless is sub-1GHz, when the signal can go deep into buildings," he said. "Over the next three years in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, these frequencies will start to become available, and Intel is working on this with the regulators."

Intel has three business models for WiMax: fixed access, where it does the job of cable or DSL (digital subscriber line) broadband; portable use within in metro zones, akin to giant hot spots; and a fully mobile system with inter-cell hand-offs.

WiMax is complementary to existing services and access companies, Richardson said. Cable and DSL providers would sell access to the metro zones alongside their own fixed line products, and 3G telecommunications companies would use the mobile system to offload their data traffic while maintaining their own focus on voice. Although Rosedale had voice capabilities, this wasn't a primary intention of the standard, he said.

ZDNet UK's Rupert Goodwins reported from London. For more coverage from ZDNet UK, click here.

Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive, a CBS Company. All Rights Reserved.
ZDNET is a registered service mark of CBS Interactive. ZDNET Logo is a service mark of CBS Interactive.