TODAY'S SPOTLIGH...WiMax debuts in London
Commercial WiMax is coming to London, as wireless service provider Libera said it would deliver a symmetric 2 Mbps WiMax service to businesses in central London this fall. The service will start at £295 a month. The company will compete head-to-head with leased lines from fixed telecom providers such as BT and Cable & Wireless. It will use wireless roof-top antennae to connect to backhaul links provided by Colt Telecom, Fibernet, and Layer 3 Communications. The service will expand to other parts of London, and then to other UK cities, the company says. The service will initially operate in the 5.8GHz band and transmit over distances of 3km to 4km. If current British law, restricting the power output of transmissions to 2W, is relaxed, the service will deliver better quality voice and video traffic over distances of up to 5km to 6km. Story.