The MD of chip giant Intel, Ashish Patel, has predicted that long-range WiMAX broadband wireless services will have coverage across the UK by 2010, though it is far from clear whether such a prediction has any tangible basis in reality.

To succeed in the UK, WiMAX would effectively need to replace the 3G technology used by mobile phone operators and or be widely adopted by fixed wireless ISPs. However, mobile operators are eyeing rival technologies too (LTE) and Ofcom has yet to auction much of the needed spectrum.

Existing UK implementations are still extremely niche, with only a handful of smaller wireless ISPs (e.g. FREEDOM4) having adopted it. Intel is naturally hoping, having invested millions of its own money, that WiMAX can establish its own market away from rivals. Quite how it could achieve this in the current highly competitive climate is uncertain.

Patel's prediction would require a far more aggressive rollout from mobile phone operators and or fixed wireless ISPs, which would also need to take place within a very short space of time. To be fair, such an outcome is not impossible, though many things would have to go in Intel’s favour for it to come about.