French newspaper, Le Monde, is questioning the viability of WiMAX in France. Citing data from French telecoms regulator ARCEP, the newspaper reported that out of the 3,562 locations that should have had WiMAX coverage by June 30, 2008, just 657 were connected by Dec. 31, 2008.
Bolloré Télécom, the largest WiMAX provider that holds 12 licenses, has only completed 13 percent of its planned rollout, while competitor Altitude has completed 15 percent. ARCEP has threatened to revoke the licenses in the past, but has agreed to extend the deadline for rollout to June 2010. Operators have blamed infrastructure suppliers for their failure to deliver true mobile WiMAX.
For more:
- read MuniWireless
Related articles:
France investigates lack of WiMAX deployments
Rumour Mill: Will Google finance French WiMAX deployment?
French WiMAX deployment in disarray