Milton Keynes connects first users to its WiMax network

Milton Keynes may have only kicked off its relationship with WiMax technology back in September, but already the city has starting connecting trial customers to the network.

The city hopes to extend the trial's reach to around 500 users, delivering connectivity at speeds of up to 10Mbps. It has also started to consider what additional infrastructure will be required to enable it to offer wider commercial services next year.

The service provider behind the trial, Pipex Wireless, believes this places it ahead of the game in terms of being the first to offer secure wireless broadband using WiMax in the UK.

Once the pilot, which is expected to last for six months, has been deemed a success and the network is fully live, Milton Keynes will be able to boast that it is one of the country's most connected cities, delivering broadband and IP-based services to both businesses and residents alike.

"Milton Keynes is a thriving, forward-thinking city, with thousands of businesses and residents looking to be at the forefront of communications technologies," said Steven Jewell, head of IT at Milton Keynes Council.

"With Pipex Wireless, we are building a model of public and private cooperation for sustainable wireless development that could be beneficial to many other public authorities in the UK. This is a significant building block towards delivering 'digital' Milton Keynes."

Earlier this year, Pipex Wireless deemed trials of WiMax in Stratford-upon-Avon a success and the company already has its sights set on WiMax-enabling many other cities, in addition to Milton Keynes, according to Graham Currier, the service provider's business development director.

"By May we will have had hundreds of demonstrations of the technology and we will then know what we can do in real life," he said.

"By that point we will be planning our next two to three cities, as well as Milton Keynes, so we end up planning in parallel and laying [infrastructure] in sequence."

The real beauty of WiMax for users in Milton Keynes will be the fact that they aren't required to install fixed infrastructure in

order to benefit from the services on offer.

"We're delighted to get Milton Keynes' residents and businesses working on WiMax broadband," says Mike Read, Chief Executive Officer, Pipex Wireless, which is a joint venture between Pipex and Intel Capital.

"Our WiMax service offers a secure, highly flexible platform for broadband and voice services, which we aim to rollout further around the city in 2007. By working with Milton Keynes Council and our other technology partners, including Airspan and Ericsson, we have the ability to make hooking up to a wireless world a reality."

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