[MLB-WIRELESS] Last Mile Hopefuls: Broadband In The 'Burbs

[Barry Park]

 Last Mile Hopefuls

Broadband In The 'Burbs
Craig Liddell

As the number of wireless deployments grows exponentially, a Melbourne
provider is rolling out wireless broadband in the suburbs using 802.11
technology.

Line-of-sight and reliability are still key concerns. But the ability to cut
out the middleman and provide broadband at a fraction of the cost of ADSL
are incentives to persist.

Twenty customers in half a dozen suburbs are connected as part of a pilot
program, according to Alphalink director, Grant Kinkead. "The feedback we
have been getting is excellent. We've managed to achieve minimum connection
speeds of 2 Mb/s, some of them a lot higher depending on their location." A
couple have achieved speeds of 11 Mb/s.

The ISP hopes to have 100 customers on their books by the end of year. A
Melbourne-wide rollout will take place based on the pilot's success. With a
waiting list of over 3500, demand is definitely there.

Developed in 1995, Alphalink has over 30 000 dial-up subscribers in all
eastern capital cities and Melbourne suburbs. Sales of their corporate DSL
product, AlphaDSL, are on the way up, according to Kinkead. The residential
wireless broadband product, Alphalink Wireless, has taken months of research
and development (R&D).

In May, the company became Australia's 100th telecommunications carrier,
which enabled Alphalink to rollout the wireless solution. Prices are yet to
be finalised. However, the first option at a theoretical limit of 11 Mb/s
incurs a one off installation fee of around $330. The second option, speeds
of 54 Mb/s, incurs a $1650 fee. Both cost $27.50 per month or $297 per year,
about the same as dial-up.

The pilot has not been without challenges. "The biggest problem we have is
line of sight," Kinkead explains. "The customer must be in line of sight of
one of our nodes to achieve connectivity. As we grow and establish more
nodes this will become less of a problem. However, in the early stages the
problem is more significant," with several customers unable to connect.


More at http://australia.internet.com/r/article/jsp/sid/12598



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