WiMAX wait for SA

Telkom South Africa will not be launching WiMAX wireless broadband services this year as had previously been reported. The telco is now looking at a 2007 introduction for its high speed wireless network. Local technology website myadsl.co.za reports that Telkom has selected Alvarion to supply WiMAX equipment, with Siemens deploying the infrastructure. Chief operating officer Ruben September commented: ‘We’ll be starting tests on the new network within the next few weeks.’ It is thought that Telkom is waiting to deploy fixed WiMAX networks which are future upgradeable to mobile WiMAX systems.