This is the year of wireless connections to the Internet. Wi-fi and wimax are no longer two incipient technologies; they’ve become real alternatives to cable and ADSL. The generalisation of the use of VoIP also makes them cheaper than mobile phones when it comes to offering phone services.The main international hardware companies are bringing forwards their plans to invest in novelties that incorporate wimax. Intel has just announced that it intends to launch a new card for computers that allows wimax connections in motion (based on the 802.16e standard, that was approved only two months ago). The PC-Card was presented at the beginning of March in San Francisco by Intel’s deputy chairman together with a real-time demonstration in a motorbike connected to the Internet at a speed of 2 megas.Actually, Intel was the starter of the fast development of wi-fi technologies by incorporating the corresponding chip to most of their processors. As a consequence, the amount of PCs equipped with wireless connections has increased considerably, making the launch of several services that don’t depend on cables possible.Intel’s objective behind the launch of the PC-Card and the incorporation of wimax chips is to get the same results as it did with wi-fi. The problem is that the company is using different frequency bands. For instance, the PC-Card will use between 2.3 and 2.5 Ghz, just the same as the Korean wibro.Siemens is also accelerating the development of wimax; the company has just announced a multimillionaire investment in a R+D centre in Brazil. In fact, the German multinational has decided to place a strong bet on wimax after having sold its mobile division to BenQ (former Acer) last year. Siemens is already working with a Brazilian operator to use this wireless system in those areas of the South American country where the telecommunications infrastructures are not good.