Towerstream is working with WiMAX vendor Alvarion to conduct trials of mobile WiMAX technology in the 3.65 GHz band. Alvarion also announced commercial availability of its 802.16e BreezeMAX 3650 base stations and CPEs for the band. Towerstream targets the enterprise market with fixed wireless and has indicated its intention in the past to upgrade to mobile WiMAX for better economies of scale.
According to Unstrung, Towerstream is ready to go with a commercial deployment soon in an unnamed market. But Towerstream isn't the first to upgrade to mobile WiMAX.
Xanadoo, a wireless ISP operating in the central and southern U.S., has upgraded its market in Springfield, Ill., to 802.16e and is working to upgrade the rest of its markets that are using technology based on Cisco's proprietary broadband wireless technology. Xanadoo has spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band and is targeting consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses to compete with DSL and cable offerings.
A recent report from analyst firm Maravedis cautions the industry not to underestimate the influence other U.S. players besides Sprint and Clearwire will wield in the WiMAX market. It appears most of the momentum lies with the smaller players at this point.
For more about Towerstream's and Alvarion's trial:
- check out this release
- read this article in Unstrung