Intel, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Clearwire, Samsung and Sprint have formed the Open Patent Alliance (OPA) in hopes of ensuring the future of WiMAX with a patent pool that helps participating companies get access to WiMAX patent licenses at a predictable cost, charged only for the features needed to develop WiMAX products.

The scheme, which makes OPA the licensing agent, has various royalty structures including cross-licensing.

OPA will issue a call for essential WiMAX patents, the announcement said, with an independent third-party reviewer determining whether submissions are “essential” or not.

The six founders expect six-nine “investor companies” to sign up and join the board. Qualcomm apparently won’t be one of them.

The competing LTE standard should also drain off participants.