Zardon

It is almost two years since Intel’s chief technology officer, Pat Gelsinger, first coined the slogan ‘Radio Free Intel’ for his vision of a world where wireless connectivity is in every device down to the wristwatch and where these devices run on adaptive radios that move intelligently between available networks according to requirements. It was a big idea, but one that has been taken up all around the industry. It was an even bigger idea that Intel – a company with virtually no RF experience - should be the provider of those ubiquitous radios.

While the general concept may have become common wisdom, the jury is still out on whether Intel can implement the vision in silicon ahead of established experts like Motorola and Texas Instruments. In the past few months, the chip giant has suffered from a string of uncharacteristic delays that have led some to speculate that it has bitten off more than it can chew in its wireless strategy. And last week, Sean Maloney, head of the communications division and generally seen as Intel’s third in command, seemed keen to damp down expectations around the adaptive radio, which only a year ago was seen as the company’s most important project as well as Gelsinger’s personal crusade.

register