Deal brings Wimax deployment a step closer

Widespread deployment of Wimax wireless access services in Britain came a step closer today with the announcement of a new partnership deal involving Pipex Wireless and infrastructure provider Nokia Siemens Networks.

Pipex Wireless, a joint venture between service provider Pipex and Intel, also partners with another Wimax specialist, Airspan. The company is only one of two in the UK to own scarce spectrum at 3.5GHz that can be used for Wimax.

Graham Currier, wireless development officer at Pipex Wireless, said: "What we have done today is announce a second vendor. Every major network deployment has to have two vendors. We would use one in, say, Manchester, and the other in Liverpool for instance."

He agreed that deployment on this scale is envisaged. Pilot schemes are already under way in Milton Keynes and Warwick.

The Nokia-Siemens equipment is compliant with 802.16e, the mobile version of Wimax; Airspan kit is compliant with the older 16d spec for fixed Wimax links, but it is firmware upgradable to 16e.

The major difference between the two is the ability to 'handover' when moving between adjacent Wimax cells, a complicated business that ensures that you don't break a link when swapping base stations.

Pipex Wireless is currently allowed to use its spectrum only for fixed links but Currier said it would still deploy 16e. "We'll use it because it has a better performance and a higher capacity [than 16d]," he said. "But that does not mean to say we will switch on mobile handover."

There will be little difference in practice, unless you are using a device while moving. To so-called "nomadic" users who use portable connected devices but only when static – sitting in a pub or café, for instance - the service would be indistinguishable from a full mobile one.

And there is a chance that Pipex Wireless will get the go-ahead to use its spectrum for full mobility. Currier said: "We have said what we will be offering in eighteen month's time."

Most people in the industry seem to be anxious to stress that Wimax will complement 3G cellular services. This may be the case if cellular operators deploy the services using their existing base sites; but otherwise it is hard to see how the technologies won't compete in some markets.

What no-one would talk about today is the proposed sale of Pipex, which may or may not include Pipex Wireless. Wimax would appear to fit very well with one reported front-runner in the sale, Virgin Media, a rebranding of cable giant NTL/Telewest, because it would provide a relatively low-cost way to extend its UK broadband coverage.

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