BT weighs WiMax move

Will telco buy-up Pipex?

BT is reportedly considering a bid for Pipex in a move that would give it one of the scarce WiMax licences currently held in the UK.

According to UK newspaper The Business, BT is pondering a £350m purchase to spearhead a renewed attack on broadband wireless services. WiMax is widely regarded as being able to offer the longer-distance links, high speeds and hardware support necessary for flexible services. However, the catch is that experts say the only two national WiMax-friendly spectrum licences held in the UK are those belonging to PCCW and Pipex.

Last August, Pipex began trials of its 3.5GHz band WiMax service, which are due to end this month. In late 2005, the ISP said it had demonstrated links of over 1km and that it expected to have 8Mbit/s connections in March this year.

However, some observers said regulators could block any BT-Pipex deal and noted that WiMax faces several technical hurdles before mass adoption is assured.

Elsewhere there has been speculation that PCCW could sell on its 3.4GHz band WiMax licence to BT.

On its web site, PCCW subsidiary UK Broadband states a clear preference for TD-CDMA technology over WiMax, at least for the near term. “A WiMax standard comparable to the plug-and-play technology that UK Broadband already has with IPWireless [TD-CDMA technology] appears to be at least two to three years away, while IPWireless is available now,” it said.