Providing further proof that interest in 802.16 technology continues to broaden, five major carriers have joined the WiMAX Forum, the industry group that is promoting interoperability and market acceptance for the standard.

BT, France Telecom, Qwest Communications, Reliance Telecom and XO Communications have joined the organization, which already has some carrier members, including AT&T and Covad, among others. Service providers now make up nearly 25% of the WiMAX Forum’s total membership of 98 companies.

"WiMAX technologies have considerable potential as extensions to our broadband offerings in the UK," said Mick Reeve, group technology officer for BT Group. "We believe interoperability will be important in this area and we are pleased to be part of the WiMAX Forum in shaping the technologies and how they are used."

"We see wireless broadband as an important access component to our portfolio of network and communications services," said Aamir Hussain, Qwest’s director of broadband technologies.

"This is a major boost as we gear up to begin certification and interoperability testing later this year and move toward the introduction of the first WiMAX-Certified products in 2005," added Ron Resnick, who works at Intel, and president of the WiMAX Forum. "Recruiting carriers to the forum is a very active process right now."

The forum has a Service Provider Working Group, chaired by Dean Chang, director of product management at vendor Aperto Networks. This committee serves as an opportunity for carriers to provide input to the various product and spectrum requirements to ensure their specific market needs are supported in WiMAX technical documents.