Imagine Communications Group in Europe has engaged Motorola’s Home & Networks Mobility business to design and deploy an end-to-end WiMAX network in Ireland to replace Imagine’s existing wireless infrastructure there.
Details of the contract were not revealed, but Motorola said it will finance part of the purchase price.
Imagine will be investing as much as $150 million, according to WiMAX.com. The first phase of the rollout, covering approximately 250,000 potential users, has already begun, according to the report.
That same article said competitor Eircom has the highest line rental fees in Europe, so users of Imagine’s network can be expected to immediately shave as much as 300 euros a year (approximately $450).
Imagine will use the network to deliver voice and high-speed data services to residential and small- to medium-size business (SMB) customers, as well as to offer mobility in city centers, using USB dongles. The solution is also optimized for Imagine to deliver a wholesale voice and data broadband service to other Internet service providers, Motorola said.
Imagine intends to use the network, which will operate in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band, to reach a wider subscriber base, including rural areas, as well as to help meet the growing demand for broadband and other IP-based services, such as VoIP.
WiMAX equipment will include WiMAX access points, such as the WAP 450 and the WAP 800 with beamforming antenna techniques. For customer premises equipment, Imagine will offer the USBw 100 dongle for high-speed mobile connectivity; the CPEi 775, which includes a built-in Wi-Fi router and ports for VoIP; and the CPEo 450, which extends the coverage of broadband and VoIP services.
Motorola will not only be deploying WiMAX equipment, but also its NBBS remote device management software platform. The vendor said this will be the first commercial deployment of the platform for managing WiMAX devices.
