When Intel put considerable technical and marketing girth behind WiMAX and joined the WiMAX Forum, there were at least a few members of that association that feared it would become all about Intel. While it is true that several Intel employees hold key positions in the forum — President and Chairman Ron Resnick, Certification Working Group Co-Chairman Ed Agis and Regulatory Working Group Chairman Margaret LaBrecque all work for Intel — the group undoubtedly has benefited from Intel's involvement. It has remained true to its description as a “forum” in which several voices from many companies are heard and heeded.

The WiMAX Forum may be entering its finest phase thus far as the primary agent of 802.16 product certification and interoperability. Certification testing for almost 20 products to comply with the 802.16-2004 standard appears to be on track to begin in July. All the forum member company representatives who attended the recent quarterly members meeting in Malaga, Spain, also seemed united in the belief that the certification process surrounding the upcoming 802.16e mobile WiMAX specification must move ahead with a sense of aggressive certainty. As our friends in the public relations world would say, everyone seems to be “on message.”

Forum membership also continues to grow, and in a way that would make many other telecom industry associations jealous. The WiMAX Forum now has 291 member companies, but at least 107 of those companies that are either current members or have started the application process are service providers. The forum is getting input and guidance from the companies that matter most — the ones that will be deploying the certified gear. Meanwhile, the membership is becoming increasingly diverse, with a broader array of international companies, like Samsung, and non-telecom companies, like Disney, joining the effort.

The new voices being added to the effort could help make WiMAX a truly global technology that's in line to support truly viable broadband applications. Yet, the forum's amazingly rapid growth in membership also has some potential pitfalls that the forum would be wise to monitor.

The quarterly meeting in Malaga was nearly bursting at its seams with attendees and their opinions about how things should be done (The arrival of more than 300 attendees, in fact, forced the group to cancel a planned evening cruise on the nearby Mediterranean Sea). For now, the forum loves the idea of so many people contributing, but the group staying on track and on schedule during the next couple of years will be extremely critical to the commercial success of WiMAX.

Some forum members believe that the rules of meeting conduct the forum introduced in Malaga will help, but respecting someone else's right to have the floor must be balanced with a large dose of discipline on the part of the forum's leadership. The forum might want to look at limiting the size of its working groups and meetings or establishing firmer agendas for its debates.

So far, the WiMAX Forum has done a mostly impressive job getting ready for its certification process, but the real job is only half finished.