Intel, Orange team up for WiMAX Tour de France

CHIP GIANT INTEL has copulated with phone company France Telecom, also known as Orange, to test pre-WiMAX wireless broadband technology during the Tour de France. Cheap high speed internet was made available to hacks attending the Tour de France stages thanks to a WiFi hotspot linked up to a WiMAX backhaul.

Orange staff were in charge of setting up all of the techy equipment overnight at each of the stages, which is apparently not a problem thanks to the Intel-based WiMAX equipment supposedly being easy to cart about and taking only an hour (or less) to install.

The WiMAX trial in Pau has been considered a success by both companies and will probably be used again on the next Tour de France. Gilles Karolkowski, WiMAX marketing manager at Intel said that she's "very happy" with the trial results, and that the Intel / Orange collaboration "demonstrates new potential for broadband wireless access."

World famous AMD-sponsored cyclist Lance Armstrong is racing in the event. µ