WiMAX Forum accredits local lab

The TTC-CCS laboratory, which is jointly funded by the government and a private company, has been accredited by the WiMAX Forum to provide both fixed and mobile WiMAX certification services to manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific region, the lab said in a statement released yesterday.

The WiMAX Forum is an international, industry-led nonprofit organization created to certify the compatibility and interoperability of products using WiMAX, or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access.

The forum has six certification testing labs worldwide. Two are in Taiwan, while the others are in the US, Europe, China and South Korea. The Taiwanese labs are operated by ADT Corp (誠信科技) and the TTC-CCS Laboratory. The organization may also establish a lab in India later this year.

ADT was accredited to offer mobile WiMAX certification late last year, while TTC-CCS is the first Taiwanese center that will be allowed to certify fixed WiMAX products, the statement said.

TTC-CCS is a joint venture of the government-funded Telecom Technology Center (TTC, 電信技術中心) in Kaohsiung and the Taipei-based Compliance Certification Services Inc, Taiwan (CCS, 程智科技).

The project aims to integrate its parent institutions' experience in testing product compatibility.

Spain's AT4 lab -- the first WiMAX Forum-accredited lab in the world -- will provide technical assistance for compatibility testing, TTC staff said.

Commenting on the laboratory, WiMAX Forum president Ron Resnick said that TTC would help meet demand for WiMAX Forum-certified testing in Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia.

Meanwhile, TTC chairman Chien Jen-ter (簡仁德) said the lab would provide excellent services to all forum members, while CCS chairman Rock Hsu (許勝雄) said TTC-CCS was capable of carrying out the task.