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Singapore to get WiMax service in 2006
By Sumner Lemon

Pacific Internet Ltd. plans to offer commercial WiMax services in Singapore starting in 2006, the company said Wednesday.

To offer WiMax-based services, the Singapore-based ISP (Internet service provider) has secured the rights for 30MHz of spectrum in the 2.5GHz band from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), it said, noting that the spectrum rights cost slightly more than S$2 million (US$1.2 million). That is a fraction of the cost for S$100 million that operators paid to acquire 3G (third-generation) mobile spectrum in Singapore, it said.

WiMax, which falls under the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.'s 802.16 standard, is a wide-area wireless networking technology that promises to deliver wireless broadband access over a range that is significantly greater than IEEE 802.11 WLAN (wireless LAN) technology, commonly known as Wi-Fi.

Pacific Internet said the spectrum it has acquired for WiMax will be used to offer wireless broadband and fixed wireless services in Singapore. The company already offers ADSL (asynchronous digital subscriber line) and cable Internet services.

Pacific Internet plans to begin commercial trials of wireless broadband services for commercial and consumer customers later this year, and plans to introduce a commercial service in Singapore next year, it said. If the service is successful, it will be rolled out in other Asian countries where Pacific Internet offers Internet services, it said.

Posted May 26, 2005 05:01 PM |