UK WiMax network up for sale?

 

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By Simon Aughton

Posted on 7 Aug 2007 at 11:28

PCCW is either about to sell its UK fixed wireless ISP, NOW, or extend the network to provide mobile telephony.

UK newspapers are reporting that the Hong Kong-based telco is seeking a buyer, but a Chinese business daily is planning to test voice calling over its WiMAX network.

NOW, originally called Netvigator, grew out of PCCW's acquisition of 15 spectrum licences across the UK but the service has only attracted 14,000 users, in part because its maximum 1Mb/sec speed at £18 per month is far from competitive.

The Times reports that PCCW has already had talks with at least one, unnamed suitor.

But The Standard, which bills itself as China's Business Newspaper, says that PCCW is to conduct technical trials with an eye to introducing WiMAX-based voice services.

That would depend not only on successful trials, but also on a change in the regulations. Currently voice-over-WiMAX is not permitted, but PCCW group managing director Alex Arena told The Standard's Chinese-language sister paper that Ofcom has intimated that it will relax this rule.

Arena denied the reports that PCCW is looking to sell NOW, which cost an estimated £27 million to set up and lost £23.2 million in 2005 (later figures have not been disclosed).