Wireless broadband equipment vendor Airspan Networks said Tuesday that it is purchasing an Israeli company that specializes in voice-over-IP technology.

Airspan said that it would acquire Israeli vendor ArelNet for $8.7 million. Airspan was an early member of the WiMAX Forum, a trade organization of WiMAX vendors, and has developed pre-WiMAX equipment that it says will be easily upgradeable to fully-certified WiMAX equipment later this year.

Voice has been called by some industry observers as one of the killer applications for wireless broadband, particularly after WiMAX becomes mobile with the eventual adoption of the mobile version of that standard, which is expected to occur in one to two years.

"We strongly believe that voice services will be a significant part of the overall WiMAX business case for operators and by making this acquisition we will be able to offer the strongest voice-enabled product portfolio in the industry," Airspan president and CEO Eric Stonestrom said in a statement.