BigAir gets some serious Air!

Wireless ISP BigAir has beat the lot of them to getting WiMAX off the ground, with wireless ISP BigAir set to roll out and release WiMAX servies across Sydney and Melbourne in coming months.

BigAir also propose to expand services into Brisbane further after.

This comes with the common Telstra play that WiMAX is old generation and won’t go far, won’t service the needs of Regional users for the long term.

Sol, what do you say to BigAir, who are investing in WiMAX networks across capital cities (where FTTN / FTTH is the best technology)?

WiMAX will be able to deliver to users fast speeds, over large distances, in fact, to cover a city with WiMAX, you could do the entire CBD with just 4 towers (one in each corner to focus coverage right round).

On the other hand, to get coverage for 20 – 50km from a CBD, just smack a tower on the tallest building right in the center of the city, and you’ll get coverage spread right round.. Naturally it won’t be of the highest, highest speeds, but last year I head WiMAX was reaching speeds in excess of 30Mbps+, so that’s a big plus!

If you look at the attitude taken by Telstra’s CEO Sol Trujillo, you generally see the common rhetoric being played, that is the dollars going to Singapore are a bad move, despite the fact that Elders are just as much as a partner in this as is Optus.

So, why all the sour grapes?

Why all the, what can only so far be described as lies, spread to play down the WiMAX plan by the government, when private sector themselves find WiMAX a viable technology for city areas?

Why should we be forced to pay ‘typical Telstra prices’, when competitors are offering better?

Why should Telstra, in light of news that others are also seeing WiMAX as a viable solution for provisioning services, be believed at all?

This stems back to the FTTN debate as well, why should they get FTTN and Australia suffer typical Telstra prices, when competitors keep proving, they can do the job better?

I think Telstra might be best retiring from telecommunications, and let the professionals do the trick, ie, those who know how to roll out networks and innovate, and bring faster speeds to consumers at cheaper prices. Clearly, Telstra don’t know how to do this.

Enjoy!