Silicon Valley Indian Professionals Association (SIPA) invites you to our monthly event on August 28, 2004.

World is going wireless. WiMAX is an emerging technology for broadband wireless. The technology conforms to IEEE 802.16 specifications and has a throughput of up to 75 Mbps (20 MHz BW) with a range up to 30 miles and uses sub-11 GHz frequency.

Among other applications, its promise is to deliver last-mile connectivity in areas much larger than served by Wi-Fi as the latter has a limited range. WiMAX will facilitate mobility for high speed data applications. It has the potential capability to deliver backhaul for telecom carrier infrastructure to Wi-Fi hotspots.

The panelists will discuss:

- Technology overview and competing/complementary technologies
- Opportunities and challenges that WiMAX brings for home and business
- Major growth areas in the near future

Subir Varma is vice president of engineering for Aperto Networks. He is responsible for product development and architectural definition of the company's fixed broadband wireless access systems. Prior to joining the founding team at Aperto, Dr. Varma was director of systems architecture at Hybrid Networks where he was responsible for the first widely deployed MMDS broadband wireless system. He previously held technical leadership positions at LSI and IBM, and has been an active contributor to IEEE 802, ATM-Forum and DOCSIS. Dr. Varma holds 18 U.S. Patents, with several others pending. He earned his B.Tech in EE from IIT Kanpur and an MS and Ph.D. EE, from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Rajeev Chand serves as the Senior Equity Research Analyst for Wireless Technologies at Rutberg & Company. Mr. Chand leads the firm's coverage of the wireless industry, including research on venture capital and merger and acquisition activity. Mr. Chand's roles include: developing thought capital on new technologies, providing counsel to potential investors and acquirers, and evaluating transaction opportunities. Most recently, Mr. Chand served as director of research for iSherpa Capital, a seed stage venture capital firm. Previously, Mr. Chand served as a strategy consultant with Accenture. He earned an undergraduate business degree from the Wharton School of Business.