Top vendors form WiMAX patent alliance

A group of six major vendors have announced the creation of a patent alliance to ensure that companies are able to access WiMAX technologies at predictable costs. The Open Patent Alliance (OPA) is made up of Cisco, Intel, Alcatel-Lucent, Clearwire, Samsung and Sprint. Another six to nine companies are expected to join [1] the organization.

Companies interested in creating WiMAX equipment can approach the OPA directly, resulting in a "competitive and open intellectual property rights model." In turn, it is hoped that the WiMAX industry will be stimulated to create a healthy ecosystem. This way, it will be easier to reach the critical mass of equipment and users necessary for WiMAX to truly take-off.

For more the Open Patent Alliance:
- check out this CNET News.com article [2]