Globes is reporting that Israel's Ministry of Communications has approved roll-out of a WiMAX network for Sderot and the Western Negev region.

"The ultimate goal of the project is to enable local citizens to enjoy wireless broadband surfing and to supply internet links to public institutions, among them kindergartens and schools, with state-of-the-art technology," reports Globes.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Alvarion (NASDAQ: ALVR), and 012 Smile.Communications (NASDAQ: SMLC) are all involved in the roll-out. Intel, it seems, has donated numerous laptops for the initiative.

This news all follows on the heels of Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S)'s announcement yesterday about its ongoing WiMAX plans.

I've written before about how Alvarion, a small-cap stock winning lots of WiMAX deals, continues to prove that WiMAX is happening internationally, in spite of U.S. delays in rolling out. I also recently interviewed Zach Scheidt, a hedge fund manager, who has been doing the work on 012 Smile.Communications.

WiMAX seems to be happening, providing investors with opportunities to pick their horses.

Zack Miller the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund. Author's fund owns ALVR as of 1/9/2008.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: 012Smile.com, Lifecell and Genoptix were today's noteworthy initiations:

• 012Smile.com (NASDAQ: SMLC) was initiated with an Outperform rating and a $16 target at CIBC World Markets and RBC Capital and with an Overweight rating and $14.75 target at Thomas Weisel. CIBC believes the company is one of the least expensive smart-build competitive carriers in the world. The firm believes the company is poised to gain market share in newly opened local and wireless markets, and sees room for the company to expand its customer base in Israel. Cowen, which started shares with an Outperform rating, believes SMLC backing by Eurocom provides the company with significant clout and financial backing. The firm sees upside from new voice over broadband and wireless services.
  
• Banc of America resumed coverage of Lifecell (NASDAQ: LIFC) with a Neutral rating and $48 target and prefers to wait for a better entry point or evidence of better than expected Strattice uptake.
  
• The firm also started Genoptix (NASDAQ: GXDX) with a Buy rating and $36 target, as they believe the funds raised in the company's IPO will help drive annual EPS growth of 35% on a long-term basis, leading to higher valuation levels.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• JP Morgan initiated Fred's Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) with a Neutral rating.
  
• UBS started Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) with a Sell rating and $85 target and Martin Marietta (NYSE: MLM) with a Neutral rating and $137 target.