The WiMAX Forum has given its approval to the use of PKI (public key infrastructure) from VeriSign, a US-based provider of internet security solutions.

VeriSign is the only independent PKI provider authorised to deliver services to both WiMAX service providers and device manufacturers. Worldwide, more than 80 million devices ranging from cable modems to ATM machines already depend on VeriSign’s PKI-based digital certificate services to secure access to various services, and this number is set to grow dramatically with the addition of the WiMAX ecosystem.

“Ensuring secure communication over WiMAX-based networks is critical for the successful growth of the WiMAX ecosystem,” says Matt Wangler, director of operations at the WiMAX Forum. “Seamless security that is transparent to the end user is also crucial for widespread adoption. We selected VeriSign because of its long track record in providing PKI solutions that feature the scalability and reliability required for WiMAX technology to flourish. With VeriSign, WiMAX is in good hands.”

As a trusted Certification Authority, VeriSign is set to perform critical certificate lifecycle functions for WiMAX service providers and device manufacturers including secure key generation and storage as well as certificate issuance, validation, revocation, and renewal. The end result will be seamless and mutual strong authentication between WiMAX networks and devices.

Available to both WiMAX service providers and device manufacturers, the VeriSign WiMAX PKI Service is capable of supporting hundreds of millions of PKI-based WiMAX digital certificates on a global scale. The service is derived from VeriSign’s PKI infrastructure that has been delivering hosted and managed security to thousands of commercial and government customers since its inception in 1995. Its architecture is a combination of highly integrated hardware, software, and processes that are protected in secure data facilities.