Imagine launch Midband Ripwave Replacement - WiMAX

Hammer of Thor

I know that I'll have people jumping on me again saying that I can't compare apples to oranges, but I thought I'd post this nonetheless!


http://www.wimax.com/commentary/news/wimax_industry_news/australian-wimax-pioneer-trashes-the-technology-as-201ca-miserable-failure201d/?searchterm=latency

One of the world’s first WiMAX operators, Hervey Bay, of Australia’s Buzz Broadband, has closed the network, with the CEO labeling the technology as a “disaster” that has “failed miserably.”

In an astonishing outburst before the audience at an international WiMAX conference audience in Bangkok, Thailand, CEO Garth Freeman slammed the technology, saying its non-line of sight performance was “non-existent” beyond two kilometres from the base station, that indoor performance decayed at a mere 400 metres and that latency rates reached as high as 1000 milliseconds.

Mr. Freeman said poor latency and jitter made the technology unsuitable and unacceptable for many Internet applications in general and for VoIP in particular. Buzz used to extol the virtues of VoIP, hyping it as a main selling point as it sought to persuade people to sign-up for the new service and dump old ones supplied by the incumbent .

Garth Freeman told delegates, “WiMAX may not work,” adding that the technology remains “mired in opportunistic hype." The CEO also emphasised that most WiMAX deployments are still in the trials stage and that the technology is attractive to and used by used by "start-up carriers" and is only supported by “second-tier vendors”.

Oh dear me!

clohamon

There's a longer version here along with a reply from the supplier.

http://www.commsday.com/node/228

Sponge Bob

Austria has levels of mobile BB penetration that would make Eamon Ryan salivate and drool .

They also have DSL and Cable BB penetration that would make the rest of us cry and the Austrians generally use Mobile BB when they are mobile and not as a hail mary pass like the Irish are forced to do

Anyway

http://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/story/alca-lu-calls-time-austrian-wimax-operator/2009-11-04

WiMAX Telecom, which started to deploy its network in 2005 using equipment supplied by Alca-Lu, has been struggling to find new investors having only attracted 2,600 subscribers. The company initially offered WiMAX coverage in Burgenland and Steiermark, but more recently expanded this by regional deployments in Lower Austria, Higher Austria and Vorarlberg. The company claims it has sufficient funds to continue operating for between three and four months, during which time it will continue to search for new investors.

Failure to reach agreement over unpaid bills has seen the Austrian-based WiMAX Telecom file for bankruptcy after Alcatel-Lucent demanded payment the wireless operator could not come up with

DECEiFER

Hi lads,

I'm just curious about the new rollout of WiMax by Imagine and Motorola throughout our fine nation.

(ref: http://www.imagine.ie/wimax-splash/index.html)


I'm wondering if one home can have this phone and broadband service from them at the same time as having Irish Broadband Breeze? Some of my housemates have Breeze and I'd be interested in WiMax and phone. I'm not 100% sure on how it works, but I was weary of Breeze being the same service and when WiMax comes to town, if Breeze customers would still be Breeze or would they be transferred to WiMax on the same package. If not, then I guess that leaves me to snatch a WiMax connection for myself and not affect the Breeze service.


Thanks lads.

jellies

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Austria has levels of mobile BB penetration that would make Eamon Ryan salivate and drool .

They also have DSL and Cable BB penetration that would make the rest of us cry and the Austrians generally use Mobile BB when they are mobile and not as a hail mary pass like the Irish are forced to do

Anyway

http://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/story/alca-lu-calls-time-austrian-wimax-operator/2009-11-04

2,600 is not a lot of customers to pay the bills.....It highlights the importance of timing and funding in deploying any new technology - getting it wrong can be a painful lesson!!

Anyway if you scratch the surface a bit there is some good stuff happening out there....

MOSCOW -- Yota company, a fast wireless Mobile WiMAX (4G) Internet services provider announces reaching the operational breakeven point. This business result has been reached by Yota in less than 5 month after commercial operation of Mobile WiMAX network in Moscow and Saint Petersburg had been started (June 1, 2009). For Ufa network commercial operation has started on October 12, 2009. Early October the subscriber base exceeded the point of 200 thousand active users, while daily connection rate is 2000.
http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=184298

Wireless broadband provider Clearwire had about 173,000 WiMax subscribers at the end of September and should be able to offer service to 120 million potential subscribers in the U.S. by the end of next year, the company said Tuesday.

Executives said on a conference call Tuesday that the carrier is on track to put its WiMax network within range of about 30 million U.S. residents this year and 120 million by the end of 2010. Earlier in the day, it had announced more than US$1.5 billion in new funding from key partner companies.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/181890/clearwire_claims_173000_wimax_users.html


Also Kilmer Peak laptops that operate in 3.5GHz will be on the Irish market Q2/Q3 next year:

Actually Intel showcased the Kilmer Peak at CEATEC JAPAN 2009. It improved the speed of maximum downstream 20Mbps and upstream up to 6Mbps.

The Kilmer Peak made improvement compare to its predecessor Intel WiMAX/Wi-Fi Link 5150. Both has a 2X2 MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) and 1×2 array ( one transmit, two pick-ups antenna).
This new wireless network adapter supporting IEEE 802.16e in the 2.5 GHz ,3.5GHz and 2.3GHz – BW: 5 & 10MHz for mobile WiMAX and 802.11a/b/g/n in the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz spectra for WiFi.

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle/articleid/3622692

Marlow

jellies wrote: »

2,600 is not a lot of customers to pay the bills.....It highlights the importance of timing and funding in deploying any new technology - getting it wrong can be a painful lesson!

That depends on how much was invested in the first place, how much money was wasted, how well the products are structured and what type of customers you have.

Quantity is not always quality.

In general, I'd say 2600 customers is quite enough to pay the bills, if the business was setup smartly. For me it sounds like these guys invested the money at the wrong end.

Clearwire on the other end has a hugely bad reputation for both their attitude, billing and products. So clearly, all they were looking at is quantity. Just check here on boards.

There's nothing wrong with WiMAX. The same or better results are possible as what has been done with fixed wireless (if used in a fixed wimax setup).

It's the company, it's forward planning, marketing, deployment and how much they contend it and how they treat their customers, that makes all the difference.

/M

bk

clohamon wrote: »

There's a longer version here along with a reply from the supplier.

http://www.commsday.com/node/228

Interestingly it sounds like he is now switching to the same DOCSIS based wireless technology that Digiweb has been using here for a few years for it's Metro products.

and a platform he described as wireless DOCSIS– a relatively little known technology that takes HFC plant and extends its capabilities via wireless mesh. He said wireless DOCSIS operates at up to 38Mbps in the 3.5GHz spectrum and its customer premises equipment supported two voice ports for under $A70 while it boasted “huge cell coverage.”

However it sounds like he is overhyping this as well.

IrishTonyO

Heres an interesting article on siliconRepublic

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/14356/comms/internet-price-wars-begin-as-imagine-unveils-its-wimax-challenge/

coverage from base stations in urban areas doesn't look great though but speeds are high compared to those advertised

"Each WiMax base station would give Wi-Fi-like coverage of 8Mbps up to 40Mbps and higher over distances of 1.5km in urban areas and 9km in rural areas."

IrishTonyO

Well today I finally made my decision and ordered UPC 10Mb Broadband. Imagine will have a base station in Park West going live in February, but I live about 2.5 km from that so after calling them and research don't reckon signal would be too good at that distance. Hope their service works out though and they plan the rest a bit better than their launch. They still haven't given a reason for the delay in releasing prices!!! Will still be on this thread to see what the service is like after people start using it as I am still really curious if it will live up to the advertising and hype.

devnull

They are now offering Wimax Broadband on their site through the phone line?
http://www.imagine.ie/wimax-splash/imagine-wimax-broadband.html

Thats not Wimax then surely? Talk about misleading marketing, they're trying to use Wimax as a brand name rather than the actual technology looks like?

nicelives

devnull wrote: »

They are now offering Wimax Broadband on their site through the phone line?
http://www.imagine.ie/wimax-splash/imagine-wimax-broadband.html

Thats not Wimax then surely? Talk about misleading marketing, they're trying to use Wimax as a brand name rather than the actual technology looks like?

That's not DSL is it? a digital phoneline must be related to their wimax (or at least some sort of wireless package)

Sponge Bob

This could be a crude and stupid marketing persons way of saying that you cannot plug your existing phone , which is analogue, into the 'phone line' on their unit.

So it is not a built in ATA then is it ...or is it ??? If so it is not a digital phone line which is what you plug an ISDN Phone into . I cannot recall seeing one of them lads since the 1990s come to think of it

devnull

They have that one page for Broadband and another for mobile broadband:
http://www.imagine.ie/wimax-splash/mobile-wimax-broadband.html

The mobile one would be wimax but the fixed one almost certainly is not as the service is being provided through the phone line.

copacetic

devnull wrote: »

They have that one page for Broadband and another for mobile broadband:
http://www.imagine.ie/wimax-splash/mobile-wimax-broadband.html

The mobile one would be wimax but the fixed one almost certainly is not as the service is being provided through the phone line.

I think you are misreading it, they are saying that the WiMax broadband, included a phoneline, not that it is provided via the phoneline.

You don't need a phoneline to get any of their services.

IrishTonyO

devnull wrote: »

They have that one page for Broadband and another for mobile broadband:
http://www.imagine.ie/wimax-splash/mobile-wimax-broadband.html

The mobile one would be wimax but the fixed one almost certainly is not as the service is being provided through the phone line.

It is not through your normal phone line it is through a wimax base station and includes a voip phone line.

flodis79

nicelives wrote: »

That's not DSL is it? a digital phoneline must be related to their wimax (or at least some sort of wireless package)

That seems to be midband similar to the mobile bb that 085,086,087,083 are offering, however, they have put 7mbps, so maybe they roam on VF, that is the only network to have a 7.2mbps network live?

flodis79

Sponge Bob wrote: »

True, Mayo had Wimax 2 years before Imagine started their media hysterics

That was not wimax right? it was the motorola standard that clearwire has used, MOTOwi4? I might be wrong though?

PogMoThoin

flodis79 wrote: »

That was not wimax right? it was the motorola standard that clearwire has used, MOTOwi4? I might be wrong though?

You are, Westnet in Mayo have been using real (fixed) Wimax for 2 years, Lastmile in the Midlands for 3, not this mobile shíte. Having some fixed users while most other users are nomadic cannot be classed as fixed wimax.

IrishTonyO

Has anyone got any feedback for the service yet? Haven't heard of anyone using it yet and would love to know. I know speeds will be higher at the inital stage due to lack of users, but can't find feedback anywhere on the web yet.

Kev.

Just to report that since the launch of Wimax my breeze 4mb has improved significantly,

Obviously its relieving the bit of contension the conection had during peak times

Keep up the good work and keep ordering Wimax .....

IrishTonyO

Has no one got any feedback on the service yet? Find it very strange I cannot find any feedback on the web at all for Imagine. Has anyone signed up and received the equipment etc?

cormie

I think everyones too afraid. I know I am!

If I could be guaranteed 3mb wimax at it's worst, would be better than 1mb IBB at its best, I'd go for it.

Marlow

cormie wrote: »

I think everyones too afraid. I know I am!

If I could be guaranteed 3mb wimax at it's worst, would be better than 1mb IBB at its best, I'd go for it.

1 mbit IBB of what ? IBB = Imagine. They've tons of different products. And if you're on Ripwave, they'll most likely force you over on their Wimax product to be able to use that spectrum.

/M

cormie

Sorry, I meant to say Ripwave, not just plain and simple IBB

IrishTonyO

Well come on guys surely someone has got Imagine Wimax installed by now?? Still can't find any feedback on the web at all, very stange. Anyone here got it installed??

_Kooli_

I still dont believe it exists

inertia99

You want to believe in it but there is no evidence If it sounds too good to be true.............

Hammer of Thor

Just got an email from them stating they are planning on replacing all Ripwave units in Wexford over next couple of weeks, that there will be several agents knocking about the place.....so I'd imagine Dublin is on the verge of having it.

IrishTonyO

Their next couple of weeks could be months if their launch is anythng to go by.

Hammer of Thor

lol, its quite possible given the shenanigans that went on over their pricing! Screw it, I'll order Breeze methinks