IBM today announced it has become a member of the WiMAX Forum, an industry-led organization driving the global adoption of WiMAX products. "We want to continue to support WiMAX as it evolves and becomes more established in the marketplace," said Don Lopes, vice president, IBM Global Services telecommunications industry.

WiMAX technology is designed to help service providers across global markets deliver economical, "last-mile," wireless broadband data, voice and video services to both residential and business customers. Migrating from a traditional switched environment to an IP-based network is a major challenge facing service providers, but one that creates a lot of opportunity to meet the growing demands of users, Lopes notes.

"The ability to integrate, collaborate and create new services across a universal platform is critical to maintaining relevance," he says. "We're helping our service provider clients understand how WiMAX can enable new sources of revenue -- advertising, other content -- with a lower cost of delivery. Moving to an IP environment will transform all aspects of their businesses -- from enhanced capabilities to efficient operations."