sprint nextel to form wimax network in us, page-14

re: something is happening Not long to go now, if the Kiwis can get them we won't be that far behind. ;-)


WiMAX boxes hit New Zealand

Richard Wood
Wednesday, 23 August 2006

Siemens has received initial shipments of new Alvarion WiMAX CPE suitable for home and office use. Availability of such equipment suggests WiMAX services from telcos and ISPs will almost certainly be launched by the end of the year.

The key features of the Alvarion BreezeMAX Si equipment are self-install and the ability to work indoor without an external aerial. The Si supports connection speeds of up to 18Mbit/s and QoS. It has some routing capability but is really a bridge type of product. It has an Ethernet port that can connect directly to a PC and in its next version it will have voice ports.

Siemens provides Alvarion kit to TelstraClear and other operators. TelstraClear says the Si is one of a number of products TelstraClear will be testing for deployment in the small business market.

Siemens communications division manager Phil Josephs says TelstraClear has had WiMAX-capable base stations in use for the past 18 months and a simple software upgrade will enable it to support the new CPE gear.

Although the Si is being supplied initially to Siemens' Alvarion customers, this is the type of equipment one will expect to see sold by service providers and in retail stores for receiving WiMAX services to home and business. We can expect to see a flurry of similar equipment from other suppliers.