Aircel announces availability of WiMAX technology in Bangalore

Bangalore, Oct 26 (UNI) After Chennai, Bangalore becomes the second city in India to be WiMAX-ed by Aircell Business Solutions (ABS) to launch the technology.

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, popularly known as the WiMAX technology, enables 'last mile' connectivity using near line of site (NLOS) wireless equipment.

ABS has enabled the WiMAX based internet connectivity at the Palace Grounds, the venue for the four day Asia's largest IT Event beginning October 28 to enable the exhibitors and business delegates to get a first hand experience of the technology.

The company was also in the process of Wi-MAXing Vidhan Soudha, the state's secretariat which housed the Assembly and the Council, and adjacent buildings belonging to the state government.

According to a release issued by the Aircel company, the initiative was to make Bangalore 'wire free' by enabling wireless Internet Connectivity through WiMAX for SME, enterprise and residential use. ABS was in the final stages of implementing WiMAX network for SME and enterprise markets across the city's prominent locations such as electronic city, the release said.

The release said the ABS was also identifying and deploying Wi-Fi 'hotspots' throughout the city with indoor and outdoor points backhauled with WiMAX. Internet services at these 'hotspots' would be enabled through pre-paid cards integrated with Payment Gateways for on-line registration and subsequently activated using the 'Authentication, Authorisation and Accounting (AAA) mechanism.

The release said with WiMAX, end users could have Internet accessibility based on portable technologies at an affodable price.

WiMAX is unaffected by environmental or climatic disturbances and provided relief to organisations from 'last mile' connectivity concerns both in urban and rural areas with limited network infrastructure. The company also quoted a forecast which suggested that the WiMAX subscriber base in India was likely to cross 12 million by 2012.

The company had recently launched WiMAX in Chennai with 90 per cent coverage across commercial areas. It had deployed WiMAX networks with limited coverage in many other prominent cities such as Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Cochin and Ahmedabad and soon would be providing pan-city coverage at these locations gradually.

ABS also planned to WimAX 26 more cities in near future, the release added.

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