Taiwan's WiMAX operator Tatung InfoComm is planning to set up an operator interoperability testing laboratory in cooperation with local government-sponsored groups and related organizations.

According to reports in Taiwanese local media, Lin Dongliang, general manager for Tatung InfoComm, said although most WiMAX devices are made in Taiwan, these devices have to be sent to a WiMAX Forum authorized OIOT lab abroad for end-to-end interoperability testing before selling to WiMAX operators. The entire testing process is time consuming and expensive.

Therefore, he hopes to combine Tatung InfoComm's testing equipment and experience with funds from government-sponsored groups to jointly set up an OIOT in Taiwan.

Lin said they will first discuss the project with Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and related organizations. Once the funding is in place, they will establish a complete WiMAX devices testing process and send to the WiMAX Forum for approval. This project will hopefully become the first WiMAX equipment certification center in Asia and is expected to reduce time and cost expenditures for related manufacturers in Asia.

Widely recognized by the industry, WiMAX Forum is a not-for-profit organization formed to certify and promote the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products based upon the harmonized IEEE 802.16/ETSI HiperMAN standard. It has hundreds of members, comprising the majority of operators, component vendors, and equipment vendors in the communications ecosystem and has certified 188 WiMAX devices, including 59 base station products, by January 2010.