Intel Commits to Support Saudi WiMAX Rollout
Intel Chairman Craig Barrett has kicked off his fourth visit to the Gulf region by pledging technical support for building a WiMAX network in the country. He also dedicated a pilot project for e-learning at a Saudi Arabian school, which is becoming a top priority in many educational systems throughout the world.
Barrett is traveling throughout the Middle East in his role as chairman of a United Nations panel on technology, and on behalf of the Intel World Ahead Program.
While in Riyadh, Barrett was on hand for the signing of an agreement between STC, Saudi Arabia's telecom operator, and Knowledge Economic City (KEC) of Medina, to deploy a WiMAX network, estimated to be up and running by 2011. Intel is providing technical support and expertise for the rollout.
Joined by Saudi Minister of Education, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Bin Salah Bin Obaid, Barrett saw the e-learning pilot project demonstrated today at Riyadh's Bishr Ibn Elbaraa School, a public school for boys in grades seven through nine. The school pilot will run in two classrooms, and outfitted with notebook computers and the specially designed Intel-powered Classmate PCs. The smaller, student-sized netbooks are designed to be low-cost, wireless-capable, water- and shock-resistant and fully functional computers that are pre-loaded with standard software and locally relevant educational programs. All computers used in the pilot project feature Intel's skoool Learning and Teaching Technology, an interactive Web-based resource for learning math and science that has been Arabized and tailored to local Saudi needs.
Posted to the site on 7th April 2008
