SiliconRepublic.com's John Kennedy reports that Irish Broadband is planning to roll out mobile WiMax services by early next year in order to "compete with and complement the advent of HSDPA by the mobile operators."

"We'll be looking at offering portable WiMax in a number of forms, whether it's a PCMCIA card in your computer or a handheld device," says company chief executive Neil Parkinson. "The ongoing development of the technology will see WiMax in digital cameras, phones and iPod devices."

The biggest selling point of WiMax, Parkinson says, will be mobile VoIP. "We are currently testing a Siemens phone for VoIP over wireless, and Samsung have developed a dual GSM and WiMax-enabled mobile phone," he says. "When these products come onto the market, we will be ready to build services around mobile products."

The announcement as a whole seems to be a little confused about the delineation between fixed, portable and mobile WiMax -- but it's good to see that Irish Broadband is heading in the right direction...