Jan/Feb 2005

The first WiMAX wireless network in Britain is expected to be created in Kent in the first half of this year by a company called Telabria. WiMAX is a technology similar to Wi-Fi wireless local-area networking, but offers a much greater range (potentially miles). It uses standards laid down in IEEE 802.16, as compared with 802.11 for Wi-Fi.

Although the underlying technology has been under development for several years, it has been unclear until recently how it would first be applied. Some commentators have predicted massive wide-area networks that would in effect offer a wireless alternative to GPRS for data transmission and Internet access.

In practice, this is not initially how the Telabria system will work. The company is developing the technology on two fronts. In London, where it already has a network of public Wi-Fi hotspots, it says it plans to link these together via a WiMAX network, bypassing the fixed "local loop" phone lines through which Wi-Fi is normally connected to the Internet.

In Kent, it plans to work with US-based wireless networking specialist SkyPilot to provide a fully wireless alternative to fixed broadband connections. SkyPilot has developed an 802.11-based technology that can link with Telabria's WiMAX to bring broadband to business or consumer premises on the 5.8GHz frequency band (which is similar to 802.11a, but uses different technology). Telabria's WiMAX system will provide the "backhaul" facilities that are currently handled by satellite communications.