Manchester next in line for WiMAX access

Manchester will be the next British city to receive widespread WiMAX coverageas Freedom4, the company formerly known as Pipex Wireless, prepares to turn its trials in Milton Keynes and Warwick into commercial services.

Although a definitive timescale for the roll-out hasn't been announced, it's widely expected to start later this year, before the company, which is a joint venture between Pipex and Intel Capital, extends commercial coverage to more than 50 cities in the UK, according to Brendan O'Rourke, Freedom4's chief operating officer, who spoke at an event in London yesterday to launch the company's new name.

"People want to interact with the internet. They don't want to read it and they don't want to just watch it. They want to watch it and then upload. But all the providers out there today think it's a one way street. Freedom4 is about giving people access to interact with the network wherever they are and on whatever device with the right speed and right service," he said.

The re-branded company will target small and medium enterprise (SME) market and believes that its WiMAX products will prove attractive to those keen to get away from the restrictions and barriers imposed by current access technologies.

As with its previous trials, Freedom4 is partnering with Airspan in addition to Nokia Siemens Networks to speed up the deployment, although it remains tight-lipped on specific pricing and will only say that pricing will be "competitive."

Viewed alongside yesterday's tie-in announcement from BT and Wi-Fi hotspot provider FON, Freedom4's WiMAX plans appear well-timed to satisfy user demand for on-the-move web access, according to Mike Read, the company's chief executive.

"We believe that wireless broadband is the key to the future. We have been working on this for a number of years and passionately believe that it's the way forward," he said.

"So why is WiMAX important? It's very simple to install...and obviously portable. One of the key things that people are using broadband for today is to download lots of information but it's very difficult to upload. With us you get a naturally symmetrical services and if it's 2Mb [for downloads] it's also 2Mb [for uploading]. Wi-Fi has also got the limitation of distance and we overcome that for users."

When asked how he thinks the BT/FON deal will affect Freedom4's business proposition, Read alluded to a similar deal it has in the pipeline with a service provider that will give it access to more than 30,000 hotspots in 88 countries.

Read said an official announcement regarding who that service provider is is imminent although it is anticipated that the partner in question will be BOZII, which fits the partner profile alluded to and whose twin-brother founders attended the launch event yesterday afternoon.

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