Irish Broadband announces WiMAX plans

Alternative wireless broadband provider Irish Broadband says it is planning to launch mobile WiMAX services to compete with the imminent arrival of high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) technology being offered by the country’s incumbent cellcos. In an interview with siliconrepublic.com, the company’s CEO Neil Parkinson said his firm’s existing wireless broadband is upgradeable to WiMAX. Irish Broadband began trials of WiMAX in the Leixlip area in March 2005 and sees 2007 as a critical year for the technology. ‘We’ll be looking at offering portable WiMAX in a number of forms whether it’s a PCMCIA card in your computer or a handheld device. The ongoing development of the technology will see WiMAX in digital cameras, phones and iPod devices,’ said Parkinson, adding that the technology would also allow the company to use VoIP as a key product in attracting new users. ‘We are currently testing a Siemens phone for VoIP over wireless and Samsung has developed a dual GSM and WiMAX-enabled mobile phone. When these products come onto the market we will be ready to build services around mobile products,’ he added.