Wireless provider criticises pollies' fibre plans

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 22 November 2007 08:31

Your IT - Home IT

Just two days before the Federal Election, wireless provider BigAir has criticised the major parties' plans for fibre rollouts.

"We are a little dumbfounded by the major parties calling for large scale fibre builds to be undertaken when, in most cases, alternative technologies such as wireless broadband can achieve the same results at a fraction of the cost and without any lengthy construction delays," said BigAir CEO Jason Ashton.

The company singled out Labor's announcement that a national fibre build is essential to provide schools with the connectivity they need. According to BigAir officials, the company already delivers wireless services that can operate at up to 30Mbps to schools around Sydney with existing equipment, and by upgrading the radios this can be increased to 100Mbps.

BigAir operates fixed WiMAX networks in metropolitan Sydney and Melbourne, and says it will be running in Brisbane by the end of the year.

Last November it announced plans to offer a 1Gbps service during 2007. According to the company's web site, the maximum speed currently available is 100Mbps.