[LINK] WIMAX said to be operational in Yorke Peninsula

[Roger Clarke]

[Okay, it's company PR rather than a considered report by a third 
party, but it does appear that Internode has some cred. to trade off.]

Internode rolls out 'real world' WiMAX in regional Australia
25-01-2008
http://www.internode.on.net/news/2008/01/71.php

Internode's WiMAX network on the Yorke Peninsula is delivering 
real-world wireless broadband speeds as fast as six megabits per 
second up to 30km from its base stations.

Internode has started connecting customers to its high speed national 
network, becoming the first Australian broadband company to deliver a 
region-wide, wireless broadband service using WiMAX.

Internode has several installation teams working on the Yorke 
Peninsula, west of Adelaide, to connect more than 200 people who have 
ordered broadband through the Federal Government's Australian 
Broadband Guarantee (ABG) program. Many of these people live too far 
from a telephone exchange to get ADSL-based broadband.

Through a network of 10 WiMAX base stations using the 3.4 gigahertz 
licensed spectrum, Internode is achieving transmission speeds as fast 
as six megabits per second at distances as far as 30km from the 
tower, as long as good line of sight is available.

Internode's first commercial WiMAX customer, farmer Ted Buttfield, 
who was connected to the Internode network on Monday, January 21, 
said Internode's WiMAX broadband service was terrific. "Compared to 
the dial-up service we've had until now, it is wonderful," he said.

"We use the Internet for many things including Internet banking, 
which was painful over a dial-up connection. My wife used to get very 
frustrated with the length of time it took to get through the 
security mode. Even something simple, like downloading Norton 
upgrades, could take an hour and a half, with dropouts. Last night, 
it took us only minutes.

["something simple, like downloading Norton upgrades"??  Is this man 
looking for sponsorship or what??]

"One thing we are looking forward to is using Internode's NodePhone 
service. We have a son who lives in Melbourne, so I reckon that will 
save us a few dollars in telephone calls.

"Internode has been extremely helpful. I have nothing but praise for 
them as they've bent over backwards for us. I think a lot of people 
here are putting their hands up for broadband. If you go to the pub, 
or meetings of the Progress Association, broadband is a topic of 
conversation at every meeting."

Internode is using WiMAX wireless broadband technology throughout the 
Yorke Peninsula to connect customers who are beyond the reach of 
"wired" ADSL services, which are limited by telephone line quality 
and distance from the telephone exchange.

Internode managing director Simon Hackett said Internode's experience 
demonstrated that WiMAX worked perfectly using licensed spectrum. 
"With WiMAX equipment installed on 10 of our towers, we are providing 
virtually 100 per cent coverage of the Yorke Peninsula," he said.

"With good line of sight, we are achieving speeds as fast as six megs 
per second at distances up to 30km from the base station. This is not 
a theoretical result - it's a real world outcome. All of our base 
station equipment is now installed, so it's just a matter of setting 
up equipment at our customers' premises. We have two surveyors and 
four installation teams on the road to make sure we can get the 
equipment deployed as quickly as possible.

"For people on the Yorke Peninsula, the beauty is that they pay no 
more than Internode customers living in metropolitan areas because of 
the Australian Broadband Guarantee subsidy."

Internode has already taken delivery of more than 150 Airspan WiMAX 
CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) radios, which use the latest 
Rosedale chips from Intel. Each device is mounted on a mast at the 
customer's site, delivering line-of-site connectivity to an Internode 
base station.

Internode surveyors use mobile WiMAX equipment at the customer site 
to identify the optimal configuration, including the necessary radio 
height, get achieve the required broadband performance. This 
customised configuration is then assembled offsite, so it can be 
quickly and easily installed at the customer's premises, with minimal 
adjustment.

Internode is also considering the expansion of its new WiMAX network 
into the Coorong region, south east of Adelaide, to enhance its 
existing pre-WiMAX wireless broadband network in that area. Internode 
already holds spectrum licenses for WiMAX deployment in the Coorong 
region.

The Coorong and Yorke Peninsula network projects were strongly backed 
by the Coorong District Council and District Council of Yorke 
Peninsula and underpinned by the SA State Government's Broadband 
Development Fund.


-- 
Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW