MacRumors.com

MacGuardians (German) report from CeBit that IBM's PowerPC 970 will debut at up to 1.8GHz as originally expected. (IBM's Microprocessor Forum presentation in October 2002 indicated initial speeds for the PowerPC 970 ranging from 1.4GHz - 1.8GHz.)

The 2.5GHz models described in an IBM press release more recently are reportedly for the subsequent generation of 970's, but will apparently utilize the 0.13 Micron Process, contrary to ZDNet's report.

Update:

Translation provided by Escher:

Surprisingly, we found out that the PPC presentation announced in advance [of CeBIT] was cancelled. When we asked, we learned that the expected processor (2.3 to 2.5 Ghz) was actually the generation after the next [i.e. post initial 970], and that we should thus not expect an introduction [of the 2+ Ghz iron] anytime soon. According to IBM, "current" PPC 970 processors (still produced with a .13 micronc process, which applies to the upcoming 2.3/2.5 Ghz processor as well), clocking up to 1.8 Ghz, could be used by Apple in the future. As always, however, it has been impossible to optain more detailed information.