CHICAGO--Motorola said it wants to help build a comprehensive WiMAX ecosystem by working closely with multiple chipset suppliers to ensure a wide variety, volume and interoperability of WiMAX-enabled devices and other CPE, PC cards and base stations.

“We’ll have some nice consumer device for trial by consumers early next year,” said Dan Coombes, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Motorola Networks and Enterprise. “WiMAX is the closest thing to 4G right now, and it’s going to continue to evolve.” Coombes made his comments in a keynote speech at the FierceMarkets WiMAX Strategies 2006 conference, an event co-located with Globalcomm.

Coombes noted how Motorola is already working with other vendors, such as Intel and Beceem Communications—and also talking to traditional competitors like Samsung--to encourage ecosystem development. He also said Motorola is working to develop dual-mode 3G/WiMAX handsets to allow roaming between the air interfaces.

The company said its commitment to helping to create this ecosystem furthers the its MOTOwi4 strategy and extends its recent product introductions -- including a carrier-class WiMAX access point.