WiMax On Hold As Media ISP Struggles For Cash
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Wireless broadband provider Unwired is struggling to find the money for its planned national metropolitan WiMax network, according to Australian IT.

Wireless broadband provider Unwired is struggling to find the money for its planned national metropolitan WiMax network, according to Australian IT.

The network was expected to be rolled out in capital cities at a cost about $200 million, the Oz says. But Unwired chief executive David Spence said increases in financing costs caused by the global financial crisis have increased the price tag by 10-15 percent.

The company now needs to tweak the funding package so the network can be built at “a much lower cost”, he said.

Spence said the WiMax project is not facing cancellation by Unwired’s owner, Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group. He reckons the company could start building “in the next few months” but conceded that Seven was keeping a close eye on the budget.

Some observers believe WiMax may have missed its big opportunity, with 3G HSPA networks – led in Australia by Telstra’s 3G – already servicing up to 98 percent of the population.