ANAHEIM, Calif.—Network designer and operator NextPhase Wireless Inc. laid out plans to expand its pre-WiMAX network through acquisitions, providing outsourcing services to Internet service providers and introducing more value-added services to its customers.
The operator said it is still on track to deploy WiMAX services in 2007 and pointed out that it is extending its network coverage into San Diego and Los Angeles counties, which increases the operator’s potential customer base from 135,000 businesses within Orange, Riverside and San Bernadino counties to more than 440,000 businesses.
NextPhase offers its service to businesses for about $300 per month.
The company also confirmed that it plans to unwire more airports in Southern California using its multi-beam antenna gear along with off-the shelf Wi-Fi equipment. The company has already deployed service at John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
“While true nomadic broadband capabilities, based on the WiMAX 802.16e standard, will not be widely available until 2008, cost-effective connectivity services can be provided to the 20 percent of the nation’s workforce who spend significant hours each month working outside of a traditional office in ‘third places’ such as airports, hotels, coffee shops, etc.,” NextPhase said.
However, Frost & Sullivan analyst Sivam Sabesan noted that while WiMAX as a technology has a lot to offer and is definitely part of the next-generation landscape, it still needs to clear a few more hurdles before large-scale adoption will occur.
“By eliminating the copper connection to the home, customers could walk away from their current service providers and simply switch to Internet access through a WiMAX tower in their town,” said Sabesan. “People are discussing the WiMAX changing paradigms before the commencement of widespread adoption and as with any new technology there are always concerns regarding the generation of excessive hype about the capabilities of the technology, the time frames in which it will be available, and the unit costs. WiMAX also has to overcome issues such as interference within the same frequency which could lead to a decline in the (quality of service), which in turn would lead to regulations that directly affect the popularity of the scheme.”
