Japan's Fujitsu to tie up with US Airspan on WiMAX

TOKYO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Japanese electronics maker Fujitsu Ltd (6702.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Florida-based network equipment maker Airspan Networks Inc (AIRN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Wednesday they would build and sell WiMAX base stations together to cut costs and expand networks.

WiMAX, or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, enables wireless data delivery over long distances, allowing faster Internet downloads while on the move. Fujitsu, which supplies equipment to local carriers NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and KDDI Corp (9433.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), expects demand for high-speed wireless Net access to boost global sign-ups to mobile WiMAX to 48 million people by 2010, and is hurrying to secure orders for base stations worldwide.

Fujitsu and Airspan will begin shipping the base stations, which Fujitsu says are the smallest in their class and use less energy than previous models, in the April-June quarter.

The two will later develop compact indoor models as they seek orders for equipment from operators such as KDDI, which plans to launch a WiMAX network in Japan in 2009. The companies hope to benefit from each other's global sales networks.

In November, Fujitsu and Taiwan's government-backed Institute for Information Industry said they would set up a WiMAX venture. (Reporting by Mayumi Negishi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)