In June of last year, picoChip was sitting pretty
with over $20 million in capital funding for its WiMAX chipmaking business. Fast forward to February 2006 as AT&T
has invested an undisclosed sum in picoChip, joining Intel and others into this small English company that makes WiMAX
and HSDPA chips, among other things. So, what is AT&T" mixing up" with this investment?It makes sense for AT&T to invest to ensure HSDPA continues to ramp as a force in the world of mobile data, where it is used by Cingular, an AT&T (formerly SBC) and BellSouth joint venture. Perhaps AT&T (or at&t, as the new logo denotes) is in the game for possible WiMAX technology and chips as well? Would at&t enter the mobile broadband game to sell alongside it's DSL service (the SBC business)? Who knows.
