MWeb takes on iBurst

By Damaria Senne, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 01 Apr 2008

MWeb plans to build a network that has twice the number of base stations that iBurst has, says Roman Hogh, head of technology and product strategy at MWeb Business.

He adds that this would depend on the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) granting MWeb an electronic communications and network licence (ECNS) and WiMax spectrum.

Hogh was speaking at the First Tuesday broadband event, held at The Wanderers, in Illovo, this morning.

MWeb had already run WiMax trials, with over 1 000 customers nationwide, and the results were satisfactory, he noted.

The company is now ready for a full-scale roll-out, pending ICASA's decision on its ECNS licence and WiMax spectrum, he said.

MWeb would first concentrate on metro areas, so as to make the business case for the network viable. "We're ready. We've been ready since the third quarter last year," he said.

iBurst marketing manager Callia Doucas said the company has at least 230 base stations nationwide. This means MWeb would roll-out more than 460 base stations.

Hot air

He also noted that MWeb plans to have its WiMax offering to compete with Telkom's ADSL service, and not the wireless services.

However, the panel discussion, comparing WiMax with ADSL, 3G and WiFi, was less than complimentary, with Skyrove CEO Henk Kleynhans stating WiMax was "a bunch of hot air".

According to Kleynhans, the theory is that WiMax can provide high-speed Internet access at cheap prices, with a long-range reach. However, that theory has yet to be tested, as there has not been a large-scale commercial roll-out of a WiMax network, he commented.

In addition, customer handsets are bulky, pricey and power-hungry, he said. "WiMax is a bunch of hot air, and government should not, as has been suggested, fund any programmes related to it until it has proven itself."

Aingharan Kanagaratnum, senior manager for radio access, network service support at Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa, pointed out that WiMax technology is still in its infancy.

While the fixed WiMax standard has been implemented, mobile WiMax is still under discussion, he said. 3G and HSPA, on the other hand, are here, and proven, he added.

Defending WiMax, Hogh said there was a high probability that WiMax will get out of the hype phase and result in something meaningful.

WiMax is the simplest, most efficient technology to transmit Internet Protocol, he noted. "WiMax was the obvious choice for MWeb because there is no other choice."