WiMAX trashed - and praised - in Australian trials

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 24 March 2008 19:55

IT Industry - Market

On the other side of the equation is Australian ISP Internode, currently trialling a fixed WiMAX network, as opposed to the mobile network in use by Buzz – which seems to be the key differentiator.

In Australia, OPEL networks (the joint venture between Australian telco Optus and Australian company Elders) will be using fixed WiMAX network technology – if they secure the Australian Federal Government’s near AUD $1 billion funding to build a rural and regional network.

Internode CEO Simon Hackett, who appeared at the conference over a WiMAX connection, said his trials were showing consistent high performance, and said the platform was “proven”, effectively completely refuting the results claimed by Buzz Broadband.

Both companies were using different versions of WiMAX technology supplied by Airspan.

Based on the two contrasting reports, it would appear that fixed WiMAX technology is the most reliable at the moment, while also showing WiMAX technology still has a long way to go to catch up with 3.5G HSPA technologies rapidly being rolled out worldwide by major telecommunications companies, with many using Ericsson HSPA network equipment.

Update: Once again, there appears to have been confusion over Buzz Broadband's WiMAX implementation. See the comments below for clarification, and thanks to our commenters.