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The Hong Kong-based company has 13 of the UK's 15 licences to provide broadband over the air and introduced the first Netvigator services in the Thames Valley in May.

PCCW indicated that it would implement the service across the entire UK, but doubts have been cast on this in the past week, despite the latest cash injection.

'When we launched in May we said we were evaluating six or more roll-out scenarios ranging from coverage in one area - through to rolling out to 75 per cent of UK households,' Joan Wagner, director of corporate communications

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at PCCW told The Register. 'Since then, the company has had very good feedback from the soft launch, in terms of proving the technology and achieving market share and we will progressively extend our coverage in the UK, taking a prudent and managed approach.'

Wireless broadband - which provides either a 512Kbps or 1Mbps Internet connection to a small receiver - is one of two emerging alternatives to ADSL and cable, which currently supply nearly all the UK's broadband connections. The other, LLU, is the subject of great expectancy, but the major ISPs - Wanadoo and Tiscali for instance - are wary of committing. Not least because, in the words of the Independent Telecoms Adjudicator, Peter Black, 'significant operational problems remain'.

Black, who was appointed specifically to co-ordinate the efforts of BT and local loop unbundlers, recently wrote: 'Order levels are climbing [and] following the curves we expected, however the actual volumes are lagging slightly. Significant operational problems remain; however most operators see improvements and in particular the intensity of interest from senior BT management is having a noticeable and welcome impact.'