Wireless broadband company gets carrier license - News - Communications

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Wireless broadband company gets carrier license

By Staff writers, ZDNet Australia
September 02, 2003
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Wireless-broadband-company-gets-carrier-license/0,130061791,120278074,00.htm

Personal Broadband Australia (PBBA), a wireless Internet provider, has been issued with a carrier license by the Australian Communications Authority (ACA).

The company has rolled out a wireless network Sydney wide, with plans to expand it to major capital cities. Four hundred Ozemail and Vodafone customers have been trialling the new wireless service which uses adaptive antenna technology developed by US based ArrayComm.

Unlike hotspot, or 802.11 technology, PBBA's iBurst service can operate over a range of several kilometres and does not require "line of sight" to an access point.

The company is planning on making the service commercially available on a wholesale basis by the end of the year.

Companies such as iPrimus and Optus have been deploying and snapping up 802.11 wireless access point at a rate of knots in the hope of capturing a slice of the new market.

PBBA has hinted at pricing the service at a level comparable to that of ADSL plans -- suggesting a rate of AU$100 per month for home connections and a AU$200 per month totally mobile PCMCIA solution is likely.