Company exec says the addition of mobile WiMax to its existing Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi mesh portfolio will help shape the future of high-speed broadband.

By Elena Malykhina

With Sprint forking out up to $5 billion for WiMax efforts, Cisco (NSDQ: CSCO) is the next big company investing in the technology in hopes of bringing high-speed broadband to developing areas, said a Cisco executive on Wednesday during a session at the Interop show in New York City.

"The issue often is still coverage. There are large parts of the U.S. where people can't get the bandwidth that they need. WiMax represents a huge opportunity to drive connectivity into areas where it's not available," said Lynn Lucas, director of Cisco's mobility solutions marketing, during the session.

Cisco earlier this week announced plans to acquire Navini Networks, a Texas-based provider of mobile WiMax 802.16e-2005 products, for $330 million. Navini specializes in integrating "smart beamforming" technologies with multi-input multi-output (MIMO) antennas -- a combination that can improve performance and range for WiMax-based services. Once the acquisition closes, Cisco will be able to enhance its IP Next Generation Network by allowing service providers to provide any service to any device over any network, according to the company.