The i-Burst system will cover 150 square kilometres of Sydney from just 10 radio communications base stations, instead of the thousands that would be required with the rival 802.11 technology. The consortium, led by smart antenna company ArrayComm, hopes to supply wireless broadband at prices comparable to DSL.
LG Electronics plans to have its wireless modems ready for the commercial deployment of the i-Burst system in Sydney in the third quarter of this year. Trials are currently underway to test the business model used by the consortium.
"This agreement represents a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for our company," said James Kim, chief executive officer and president, Telecommunication Equipment and Handset Company, LG Electronics.
The i-Burst consortium plans to market the technology world wide, and views the project in three major components. "There's a global component, which is the technology and manufacturing partners," Nitin Shah, chief strategy officer of ArrayComm told ZDNet Australia. "The second piece is whether there is a market for what i-Burst offers?"
He said market research in a number of countries with minimal broadband infrastructure, as well as countries with high levels of broadband infrastructure, but whose residents were interested in mobile access, had proved positive.
The third piece of the puzzle is the regulatory environment, particularly what rules govern the licensing of spectrum. "In the instance we find we have commercial partners who are motivated and purchase spectrum we will work with them," said Shah. He said in most countries they would liaise with the regulatory bodies, but expected the commercial partners to handle the spectrum licensing.
