Six technology companies are teaming up to jointly license patents that cover WiMax in an effort to prevent costly royalty rates that might deter adoption of the technology

Six technology titans are banding together to jointly license patents that cover WiMax in an effort to prevent costly royalty rates that might deter adoption of the wireless technology, according to a report on Sunday on the Wall Street Journal's website.

Cisco, Intel, Samsung, Sprint Nextel, Alcatel-Lucent and Clearwire, plan on Monday to announce the creation of the organisation — to be called the Open Patent Alliance — the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the group's plans.

WiMax is a wireless broadband standard that has been touted as a breakthrough for cheap high-speed internet access. Its backers claim WiMax can transmit data up to 30 miles between broadcast towers and can blanket areas more than a mile in radius with bandwidth that exceeds current DSL and cable broadband capabilities.

Copyright © 1995-2009 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved
ZDNET is a registered service mark of CNET Networks, Inc. ZDNET Logo is a service mark of CNET Networks, Inc.