Six months ago, i wrote that a fixed wireless resurgence was on its way. Today it has become a full fledged movement. MSNBC/Reuters reports that WiMAX is threatening 3G in the wireless sweep stakes, and could upset the plans of all those who spent billions on acquiring 3G licenses.

WiMAX is such a hot topic that Intel’s executive board discusses its progress as much as three times a week, and by 2006 plans to start building it into its chip platforms, which power around 80 percent of all personal computers. Nemcek believes WiMAX will be reality for many consumers in three to four years. “By the time you see real market momentum, it will be 2007 or 2008. That gives 3G three years to get its business better established,” he said.

WiMAX could become a headache for the hardwired phone companies because now VoIP has relegated voice calls to the status of an application that rides the data networks.