BT mulls U.K. WiMAX deployment

Having been announced as the new head of BT only a few days ago, Ian Livingston has already made it clear that he plans to do things differently by letting slip that a U.K. WiMAX deployment is under consideration.

Having had a level of success with its WiFi network, Livingston has stated that WiMAX is being closely looked at to provide a high-speed, low-cost connection to the Internet. Analysts have interpreted this remark as BT being more interested in using WiMAX to serve its corporate customers rather than individual consumers.

Industry observers believe that having its own WiMAX network would allow BT to better compete with the triple and even quad services its rivals are offering, as well as control its own destiny. Ofcom's summer auction of the 2.6GHz band could be used for WiMAX, but there is seemingly no commitment by BT to purchase the spectrum, and that much would depend on price. Livingston has previously ruled out a bid by BT to re-enter the mobile market by acquiring another mobile network operator.

For more on this story:
- read The Financial Times

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