Six Taiwan operators showcased WiMAX applications in the fields such as emergency rescue and health care, at a regional trade show that opened in Taipei Tuesday. The applications were on display at the Taiwan pavilion at the WiMAX Forum's Congress Asia, which was held in Taiwan for the first time, April 13-14. At the Taiwan pavilion, the WiMAX rescue equipment was displayed on two dummies dressed as rescue specialists. 'With this equipment, rescuers can send real-time images to a nearby operation center as soon as they arrive at the emergency site, ' said James Pao, an executive of Comm Tec Corp. that was commissioned to develop the gear for First International Telecom Corp. 'The equipment can also monitor the rescuer's heartbeat and body temperature and can detect any toxic fumes in the environment, ' he told reporters. This gear can be used by firefighters, security guards, police, and the military, he said. Another Taiwanese operator, Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., highlighted a network that can monitor the health of senior people who live in remote areas or are not very mobile. The WiMAX equipment allows such seniors to check their blood sugar and pressure levels and then transmit the data via a network that would immediately alert a medical team if there are any irregularities. For its part, VMAX Telecom Co. was offering free rides on taxis equipped with the WiMAX technology that allows passengers to surf the Internet or watch online videos in the cabs. VMAX also showcased a cellphone-based mobile TV service that provides information on stock markets and sports events such as the upcoming football World Cup. However, these advanced applications have not yet taken off in the wider consumer market in Taiwan, said Hsieh Ching-tarng, the director of the WiMAX Forum's office in Taiwan. Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the WiMAX Forum, said that at the moment the situation is different in Taiwan than in Moscow, where there is a buzz among consumers about the advantages of the wireless technology. He said it will take a while for such a buzz, or word-of-mouth marketing, to take off in Taiwan, but when it does it will help speed up the development of what he described as 'fast Internet service everywhere.' WiMAX is just taking off in Taiwan, but has been growing rapidly in many countries in the past year, said Johnsee Lee, the president of Taiwan's semi- official Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). Most of Taiwan's six WiMAX operators obtained their commercial license from the government between December of 2009 and March this year. Established in 2001, the WiMAX Forum now tracks 559 deployments in 147 countries, with estimated coverage of more than 620 million people worldwide, one third of which are in Asia. The annual congress, which was held in Singapore in the last two years, attracted an estimated 2,500 people, including operators and component and equipment vendors in the communications field. 