Perth to get new WiMax service from BigAir
A new service based on WiMax technology is set to be rolled out in and around the Perth area by the broadband provider BigAir and will see some of the fastest broadband connection speeds yet seen in Australia.
BigAir, the ASX-listed wireless broadband provider have recently confirmed that Perth will be the next location for deployment of its high speed WiMax network service and that it will soon be announcing its new customer wins.
Around 2000 square kilometres or 30km around the CBD is set to be the deployment area for the WiMax service. Symmetric broadband speeds of up to 1000Mbps will be delivered by this new WiMax network.
The telco currently has one “very large customer” lined up and a number of systems integrators that are look to work alongside BigAir during the service rollout, according to Jason Ashton, the CEO of BigAir. The network operator is also looking in the west for new channel partners and ISPs to resell services over this new network on top of the existing partners it already has.
August 2007 saw the initial launch of BigAir’s WiMax service across Melbourne and Sydney with Brisbane being the next location it expanded the service to. The use of 5.8GHz MicroMAX base stations on Airspan Networks 802.16d technology is the basis for the point-to-point service.
Having previous considered Adelaide as one area of significant interest Ashton said that the expansion of it business-grade network throughout Australia was something it would continue doing. As BigAir plan for faster and newer service it is also rolling out more of its base station outside of the CBD area.
Ashton said “We’re going to be aggressive this year – we want to expand the network out as we’re confident in the technology and have lots of happy customers. It’s also great we can launch these services for customers given the uncertainty around the national broadband network” When asked about specific customer numbers Ashton refused to comment although he did say that most of them were SMEs.
