PORTLAND (WiMAX Day). The WiMAX Forum announced this week that it will now begin accepting mobile WiMAX products for testing and certification. In a press release, the WiMAX Forum said it “expects hundreds of products to be submitted for testing,” and this will allow many such products to reach the market in early 2008.

“The beginning of Mobile WiMAX certification enables our member companies to deliver on their business commitments,” said Ron Resnick, president of WiMAX Forum.

With more than 100 companies planning to deploy mobile WiMAX networks in the next year, the availability of certified products is key for these networks to launch services to consumers eager for fast personal broadband.

Barry West, president of Sprint’s Xohm business, said “Certification facilitates Xohm’s model for open access,” and “will encourage device innovation in anticipation of Sprint’s WiMAX network launch in the US.”

The main certification laboratory for the WiMAX Forum is at AT4 Wireless in Spain. Other testing labs in America, Taiwan, China and Korea are also expected to soon provide certification testing.

The global reach for the WiMAX Forum testing labs is also expanding. Last week, plans were announced to add a designated WiMAX Forum certification laboratory in India. According to Ron Resnick, who was in New Delhi earlier this month for the WiMAX Forum India Summit, the laboratory will debut in 2008.

“WiMAX is the key to addressing India’s huge market demand for broadband Internet, and preparing to meet the future needs of the country’s communication needs,” said Resnick in a recent press statement. He added that WiMAX technology has a significant part to play in fueling growth of the Indian economy.

The establishment of the certification laboratory will enable WiMAX equipment vendors in India to accelerate the certification process targeting the India market. Equipment certified by the WiMAX Forum will give operators a strong platform to deploy advanced services and applications across a wide range of devices.

According to Dr Mohammad Shakouri, vice-president of marketing at the WiMAX Forum, the broadband policy and allocation of 2.5 GHz spectrum is key for the expansion of WiMAX in India. “The WiMAX Forum will continue to work with the Indian government and existing telecommunications organizations to promote and substantiate that adequate spectrum and bandwidth is allocated for WiMAX deployments while presenting no conflict with existing technologies,” said Shakouri.

India is one of the fastest growing WiMAX markets in the world. According to report put out last October by the research firm Maravedis, the total number of WiMAX subscribers in India will reach 21 million in just a few years.