WiMAX down under

Australian wireless broadband ISP Allegro is claiming a first-to-market deployment of business grade WiMAX.

The firm will seek to gain wholesale access to the backhaul fibre and other network elements of the Optus Elders consortium (OPEL).

These networks were awarded nearly A$1bn by the Federal Government as part of the Federal Government’s Broadband Connect project for regional Australia.

Allegro is using kit supplied by Israeli form Alvarion.

Allegro joint Managing Director David Waldie said: “It enables us to deliver up to 12 Mbps throughput at 20 km, and as the standard evolves, speed is expected to increase markedly. We are excited about the opportunities Alvarion’s ecosystem can offer us.”

The government’s aspirations to broadband Australia with wireless and fibre technologies has been given an unexpected and privately funded kick start, with Allegro Networks building its own network, using the licensed 3.4GHz spectrum.