Speaking in Taipei, Taiwan, Monday (April 5) Craig Barrett, Intel's CEO, said: "We haven't changed our basic position. We will sell our Centrino mobile technology up until 1 June. Hopefully, we'll get the issue resolved before then."

Intel insists it has not been able to find an appropriate solution that meets its product quality standards that comply with Chinese requirements for the Wired Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI) standard. China is insisting that the spec must be used after June 1.

WAPI was published last May in a bid to address the Chinese government's concerns that existing WLAN security standards were not effective. WAPI was to have become effective last December, but strong lobbying on the part of the U.S. government and WLAN chip makers persuaded Beijing to move the deadline to June.

Beijing still insists that all foreign firms partner with companies on a list of 24 local manufacturers in order to obtain the import permits they will need to sell WLAN kits in China.

Broadcom has joined Intel in refusing to comply, believing China should adopt the 802.11 set of standards. "I am a firm believer that international standards allow more rapid movement of technology," said Barrett.

Other chip and WLAN equipment suppliers such as Atheros, Linksys and Texas Instruments have indicated they are planning to comply with the WAPI requirement.

By: DocMemory
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