LAS VEGAS -- Will WiMax be the connectivity panacea that displaces Wi-Fi, cable and DSL, or will it be irrelevant before it ever reaches the mainstream?

That was the subject of a panel discussion at the Interop 2005 conference. Moderator Bob Egan, president and CEO of North Providence, R.I.-based consulting firm Mobile Competency, told attendees that even the experts don't know for sure.

Egan said because there are often gaps in cellular- and 802.11-based networks, the long-range wireless data transmission technology could be a natural fit in some circumstances, but it remains to be seen whether the market will accept WiMax and if providers can profit from it.

"WiMax is being used today as a fixed technology, but the 802.16e wireless WiMax specification is coming," O'Neal said. This will enable to WiMax to complement or perhaps displace existing end-point access technologies like Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable, Wi-Fi and third-generation (3G) wireless WAN services offered by cellular providers, he added.

Ron Peck, director of platform and solution marketing in Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel Corp.'s WiMax group, said Intel is aggressively pursuing the technology, particularly 802.16e, for future notebook computer chips.