Broadband wireless expands

Broadband wireless, such as WiMAX and Flash-OFDM, seem to gain traction. Longer term this could pose a threat to both fixed (DSL, cable) and wireless networks. Flash-OFDM however cannot quite match future HSDPA (a UMTS upgrade).

• Qwest wants to start a real market trial of WiMAX outside of Denver by the end of this year. It aims for a town that currently is underserved by DSL. In the US, AT&T, Sprint and BellSouth all have similar plans. No further details yet (location, vendor, WiMAX-standard).
• The island of Mauritius wants to turn itself into a 'cyber-island'. Building on an undersea fiber-optic cable, completed 3 years ago, gear from Navini Networks will be installed nationwide to create a high-speed environment for a better investment climate. Mauritius aims for the 802.16e standard, allowing for full mobility.
• Digita, a new operator in Finland, plans to build a Flash-OFDM network (non-standard) from gear by Flarion Technologies. Maximum download speeds are 3.2 Mbps, which is much better than current 3G. However, 3G will be upgraded to HSDPA, that offers maximum speeds of 14.4 Mbps.