Wellington Gets WiMaxed (Slowly)

Written by Adam Gosling

Monday, 06 November 2006

Broadband ISP nzwireless is first to market launching a WiMax service in the New Zealand city of Wellington. Oddly though, while the company admits it could pump data at 20Mbps, users will get 3Mbps max. Following a six month trial period involving "dozens of customers" and an investment of more than NZ$1 million to establish base stations the company is now offering 2Mbps downlinks in the Wellington CBD and Lower Mt Hutt area. A 3Mbps service is also available at NZ$125 per month (+GST) while the slower 2Mbps is priced at NZ$80 (+GST) per month. Both have a 10GB limit, but you can sign up for an option of unlimited downloads for an extra NZ$25.00 (+GST) per month. The company is letting users make the most of the WiMax technology by making both plans symmetrical promising either 2Mbps or 3Mbps uploads speeds respectively. On the downside, there is a NZ$500 installation fee. The company explained away the (relatively) slow speeds claiming that quality is more important than quantity, saying 20Mbps "is not really necessary" and the fact that its WiMax network has "never dropped a packet" and has no interference is more important. http://www.nzwireless.co.nz/ Related news items Nokia Buys Map Company For US$8 Billion -02/10/2007 Clever Says Rudd Comments Not Clever -19/06/2007 Palm Backs Hands Free -27/03/2007 Crackberry Cold Turkey As Voda Goes Dark -14/03/2007 MOBILE DRIVE FINGERED -22/06/2005 Newer news items Municipal Wi-Fi Planned For Sydney -29/11/2006 Wireless Broadband Extended On Darling Downs -26/11/2006 Canberra Gets Free Mobile Broadband -16/11/2006 Get Your Own GSM Cell For Home -15/11/2006 ACMA To Hold Spectrum Management Conference -14/11/2006 Older news items Other States Must Wait For Vodafone HSDPA -24/10/2006 Mile High 3G Gaining Momentum -18/09/2006 Weekly Broadband Rental For Irregular Travellers -18/09/2006 Data-Linc Appoints Local Distie -14/09/2006 Cost Effective SSL VPN -12/09/2006 Tag This Now: