Australia
The Australian wireless broadband market is characterised by growing competition between pre-WiMAX and competitive technology providers. Unwired Australia Pty Limited operates a pre-WiMAX network in Sydney that the company claims has 70 sites, 1 200 square miles and covers a population of 3.5 million inhabitants . The service is advertised to reach 10 km from base stations. Broadband plans for 256 kbit/s mobile data cost USD 23.27/month (AUD 29.95) while the fastest service at 1 Mbit/s costs USD 93.20/month (AUD 119.95).
Sydney is also the home to another wireless broadband network that uses the technology behind
IEEE 802.20 (MobileFi). Personal Broadband Australia uses iBurst technology and allows users to also connect at speeds of up to 1 Mbit/s for AUD 99 per month within Sydney. 60 The network is said to reach 1 million inhabitants in Sydney as well as users in Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and the Gold Coast. There are plans to expand across the country.
Austria
Austria auctioned wireless local loop licences in October 2004 and several companies won licences to provide services in the 3.5 GHz frequency range. The licences do not stipulate the use of a specific air interface but WiMAX is the technology planned for at least one of the networks. WiMAX Telecom paid USD 208 000 (EUR 160 000) for a nationwide 3.5 GHz licence in Austria to provide future WiMAX services. 62 Other licenses were awarded to Telekom Austria, Telekabel and Teleport. WLL frequencies have also been made available between 24-26 GHz. 63
Belgium Wireless broadband provider MAC Telecom holds 3.5 GHz and 10.5 GHz licences and has an LMDS network that covers Brussels and surrounding areas. Fixed wireless connections are available to subscribers at speeds up to 155 Mbit/s.
The other fixed-wireless broadband license is held by ClearWire, which is operating a pre-WiMAX network in the 3.5 GHz range. Currently ClearWire has coverage of 50% of Brussels and plans to have 100% coverage by summer 2005. The company has also rolled out a network in Mont-Saint Guibert, a village of roughly 6 000 inhabitants, roughly 30 km from Brussels. Current subscriptions start at EUR 28.99/month for 1 Mbit/s connectivity and EUR 78.99 for 3 Mbit/s.
Canada
Canada has issued a large number of fixed wireless licences in the 2.3, 2.5 and 3.5 GHz bands. Spectrum was auctioned in the 2.3 and 3.5 GHz bands in 2004 and 2005, resulting in a total of 32 companies receiving 841 licenses. A sample of the current license holders includes Inukshuk, SaskTel and the Manitoba School Board. Other licence holders in the band include Look TV, Image Wireless and Skycable who are authorised to provide multi-point distribution services and limited Internet access facilities.
Some networks building on pre-WiMAX equipment have had relative success. For example, the city of Summerside, Prince Edward Island has co-ordinated a private-public partnership to provide pre-WiMAX wireless Internet access to households and businesses in the western half of the province. The project has been funded largely through an award given by Industry Canada under the Broadband Pilot Program.
Denmark
In December 2000 Denmark issued a number of nationwide fixed wireless licences in the 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands. Additional licences have been issued in the 10 GHz band. The availability of FWA is very high in Denmark. SONOFON, who was assigned two FWA licenses in 2000, has since 2002 covered more than 90% of the country.
The FWA licence holders Danske Telecom and butlerNetworks both launched pre-WIMAX services in the beginning of 2005, primarily with a focus on the business segment. butlerNetworks has started up a nationwide offering of pre-WIMAX services with minimum speeds of 4 Mbit/s. The pre-WIMAX services are promoted and sold through partnerships with service providers on a wholesale basis, based on butlerNetworks' existing FWA-network.
Danske Telecom has made a rollout of pre-WIMAX services in some parts of Copenhagen. The company has announced a further rollout of pre-WIMAX services in other cities in 2005. Services are sold with speeds from 512 kbit/s up to 2 Mbit/s with a setup fee of USD 350. Monthly prices are USD 47 for 512/128 kbit/s services and USD 111 for 2048/512 kbit/s services.
Finland
Many of the wireless broadband projects in Finland have been undertaken by municipalities and
power companies. Typically an area is blanketed with Wi-Fi hotspots operating in license-exempt spectrum that can then be connected together via pre-WiMAX WLL technologies in licensed frequency ranges.
One example is a MAN being built by Vantaan Energia (an energy company) in Vantaa and surrounding cities. The network is currently accessible by 40 000 residents who have access via Wi-Fi. The company plans to reach 80% of households by the end of 2005. Another energy company, Mäntsälän Sähkö is rolling out a pre-WiMAX network in the mid-Uusimaa region. The network is expected to cover a population of 60 000 over an area of 800 square kilometres.This will be owned and operated by the local energy company Mäntsälän Sähkö, and will cover an area of over 800 square kilometres. Upon its completion in early June the new network, MSoynet X, will cover a population of over 60 000 people.
France
In July 2005, the regulator, ARCEP, adopted two decisions proposing to the Minister of Industry a procedure for the delivery of wireless local loop authorisations. This proposition would allow for the delivery of two new authorisations in the 3.4-3.6 GHz band that would be held independently in each region. In regions where the demand does not exceed the available frequencies, ARCEP would issue authorisations on a infirst come first servedls basis. In areas with more demand for licences a iibeauty contestla selection would be held to allocate the authorisations. Frequencies would also be made available in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band and allocated if needed. Finally, some projects could use the 5.4-5.7 GHz band which should be opened to wireless access systems by the end of 2005 for wireless equipment respecting the version of the ETSI standard including DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection). The Minister of Industry should publish the procedure proposed by ARCEP, that indicates the rules and the timetable of the whole procedure, in the Journal Officiel.
Altitude Telecom operates an LMDS network in the 26 GHz range but has recently acquired a licence in at 3.5 GHz which will be used for pre-WiMAX equipment. The network will service small and medium sized enterprises. The WiMAX network will also be leveraged to deliver voice services using Voice over WiMAX. France Telecom has deployed iepre-WiMAXlS trials based on the 802.16-2004 standard in the towns of Amilly, Lehon and La Salvetat. WiMAX backhaul connections were used for one part of the trial to deliver connectivity to Wi-Fi hotspots. The France Telecom trials were allowed to take place in the 3.5 GHz range in the trial areas. Other companies such as Hub Telecom (formerly ADP Telecom) have also announced their intentions to run WiMAX trials. 71 but Altitude Telecom is the only operator that currently has a 3.5 GHz license.
While Altitude and France Telecom are using or trialling pre-WiMAX equipment, the mobile operator Orange is currently trialling an HSDPA network in Lille that is considered a competitor to WiMAX.
Germany
The German regulator, RegTP is in the process of recycling WLL frequencies to be used by newer technologies such as WiMAX. RegTP has proposed a simplified licensing process, named ialicensing lightln that would make it easier for WiMAX providers to start offering services. Frequencies for WiMAX are available in the 3.5 GHz range and will be available for use in 2006.
Deutsche Telekom will deploy pre-WiMAX technologies in a pilot project. The German national
regulatory authority has assigned limited test frequencies for trials scheduled to begin in the region of Bonn in mid-2005.
Ireland
Ireland has several operators with pre-WiMAX plans or trials underway. Irish Broadband has 3.5 GHz licenses in 16 cities including the larger cities of Dublin, Galway, Cork, Limerick and Waterford. 74 It also will implement pre-WiMAX equipment in the 5.7 GHz range 75 . Irish Broadband currently has just under 10 000 subscribers.
The mobile operator O2 has also been trialling WiMAX services in Gleann Cholm Cille, Donegal, in the northwest of Ireland. The service connected residences, businesses and schools for a four month trial beginning in early 2005. DigiWeb has also announced the development of a WiMAX network and hopes to cover 50% of the country by mid-year 2005.
Japan
The Japanese government is currently in the process of deciding how to allocate spectrum for wireless broadband providers. No decision has been taken yet some companies have announced their ambitions to offer city-wide WiMAX networks in Tokyo. The communication operator Yozan would like to start WiMAX trials in Tokyo by mid-year 2005 and would initially start by building out a fixed WiMAX network. The operator has said it will then upgrade the network to the mobile WiMAX after IEEE finalises the standards and the WiMAX Forum begins certification testing. 79 The network is expected to consist of 600 cells that cover the greater Tokyo metropolitan area and surrounding eight prefectures. Tokyo is already wired for DSL and fibre and broadband prices are among the cheapest in the world so Yozan will try to compete on price and mobility.
Korea
The Korean government allocated three WiBro licenses based on the IEEE 802.16e standard in the 2.3GHz range for wireless/mobile Internet services. Korea WiBro rollout will likely be the first high-speed mobile broadband service of its kind in the world. KT is working to provide a WiBro demonstration service in Busan in November 2005 for the APEC summit meeting. Korea leading operators KT (fixed) and SKT (mobile) will launch WiBro services commercially in 2006. KT is set to offer services in April 2006 with SKT following in June 2006.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg has started a consultation on the situation of wireless networks. Previously Luxembourgs regulator (ILR) assigned licences to WLL-operators in two frequency bands, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz with specific restrictions meant to avoid interference. The new consultation is also considering the 5.8 GHz band and has been included as part of the discussions within the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT).
Netherlands
The Dutch operator Enertel's has a pre-WiMAX service available for businesses in the Rotterdam/Rijnmond region using the 3.5 GHz range. The service will be extended to Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven, and is anticipated to have reached national coverage by late 2005. 83 The results of the pilot project have been successful.
New Zealand
New Zealand created the rights for two 3.5 GHz radio licenses for fixed wireless use in 2001. The
allocation proposals for the spectrum bands were published in March 2004, with priority given to telecommunication suppliers that are part of the Provincial Broadband Extension Project (PROBE). The use of the 3.5 GHz range means that WiMAX equipment could be easily used by providers once it is certified.
Spain
The Spanish wireless ISP Iberbanda has been operating an LMDS network in Spain since 2001 in the 3.5 GHz range in 72 cities. Recently Iberbanda announced they will be installing pre-WiMAX equipment in two Spanish regions, Andalusia and Catalonia. The LMDS network provides services to businesses but the implementation of pre-WiMAX equipment is meant to lower prices for connections to consumers and small businesses. The upgrade of the Iberbanda network to pre-WiMAX equipment is not surprising given the much higher costs of proprietary LMDS equipment.
Switzerland
Switzerland has opened a public consultation on the licensing of broadband wireless technologies in an effort to determine the demand for licences in the market and the most effective way to allocate them. The results of the consultation should be made public in the summer of 2005. Shortly thereafter, ComCom will decide the number of licences and how they will be awarded. For the moment, BWA technologies would be limited to licensed usage in the 3.4 to 3.6 GHz frequency bands. Licence-exempt use could be possible in the 5.7 GHz frequency bands with restrictions on power levels.
Sweden
The local authority in the rural area of Skelleftea commissioned a WiMAX network to provide Internet access to 71 000 people over an area of 7 200 square kilometres. The network will use pre-WiMAX equipment, will likely operate in the 3.5 GHz band and is the result of a joint effort between TeliaSonera, Mobile City and the local university.
United Kingdom
BT has announced they will deliver 100% wireless broadband coverage in Northern Ireland before the end of 2005 using pre-WiMAX technology. BT initially started four trials which took only 6-8 weeks to put into place. The initial trials linked 120 customers via wireless broadband for a period of 6 months.Customers were able to connect to the Internet at speeds between 512 kbit/s and 1 Mbit/s. Working from the success of the trial, BT is planning to expand the project and provide 100% coverage in Northern Ireland using licence-exempt spectrum in the 5 GHz band. One of the key benefits of the pre-WiMAX network being put in place by BT is its symmetric data speeds. Unlike ADSL where upload speeds are much slower than download, symmetric services can offer high-speed uploads to businesses and consumers.
United States
Potential WiMAX providers in the United States have focused on the 2.5 GHz and 5 GHz ISM bands. The 3 400 Π3 650 MHz range is allocated for use by the radiolocation service (radars) on a primary basis and does not contain provisions for use of fixed or mobile systems. Clearwire is one of the first providers to offer pre-WiMAX services in this frequency band with its network in Jacksonville, Florida. The service covers 120 000 inhabitants in an area of 100 square miles. Clearwire has acquired a large number of licenses and currently has services in Dayton Beach, Florida; Abilene, Texas, and St. Cloud, Minnesota. Monthly prices are USD 27.99 for 512/128 kbit/s service and USD 47.99 for 1500/256 kbit/s service. The United States recently opened up new spectrum for wireless broadband in the 3 650 to 3 700 MHz range that uses a hybrid approach of licensed and unlicensed regulatory models. The band will require the use of contention-based protocols that will minimise interference. The goal is to stimulate the expansion of wireless ISPs with limited resources.
The Australian wireless broadband market is characterised by growing competition between pre-WiMAX and competitive technology providers. Unwired Australia Pty Limited operates a pre-WiMAX network in Sydney that the company claims has 70 sites, 1 200 square miles and covers a population of 3.5 million inhabitants . The service is advertised to reach 10 km from base stations. Broadband plans for 256 kbit/s mobile data cost USD 23.27/month (AUD 29.95) while the fastest service at 1 Mbit/s costs USD 93.20/month (AUD 119.95).
Sydney is also the home to another wireless broadband network that uses the technology behind
IEEE 802.20 (MobileFi). Personal Broadband Australia uses iBurst technology and allows users to also connect at speeds of up to 1 Mbit/s for AUD 99 per month within Sydney. 60 The network is said to reach 1 million inhabitants in Sydney as well as users in Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and the Gold Coast. There are plans to expand across the country.
Austria
Austria auctioned wireless local loop licences in October 2004 and several companies won licences to provide services in the 3.5 GHz frequency range. The licences do not stipulate the use of a specific air interface but WiMAX is the technology planned for at least one of the networks. WiMAX Telecom paid USD 208 000 (EUR 160 000) for a nationwide 3.5 GHz licence in Austria to provide future WiMAX services. 62 Other licenses were awarded to Telekom Austria, Telekabel and Teleport. WLL frequencies have also been made available between 24-26 GHz. 63
Belgium Wireless broadband provider MAC Telecom holds 3.5 GHz and 10.5 GHz licences and has an LMDS network that covers Brussels and surrounding areas. Fixed wireless connections are available to subscribers at speeds up to 155 Mbit/s.
The other fixed-wireless broadband license is held by ClearWire, which is operating a pre-WiMAX network in the 3.5 GHz range. Currently ClearWire has coverage of 50% of Brussels and plans to have 100% coverage by summer 2005. The company has also rolled out a network in Mont-Saint Guibert, a village of roughly 6 000 inhabitants, roughly 30 km from Brussels. Current subscriptions start at EUR 28.99/month for 1 Mbit/s connectivity and EUR 78.99 for 3 Mbit/s.
Canada
Canada has issued a large number of fixed wireless licences in the 2.3, 2.5 and 3.5 GHz bands. Spectrum was auctioned in the 2.3 and 3.5 GHz bands in 2004 and 2005, resulting in a total of 32 companies receiving 841 licenses. A sample of the current license holders includes Inukshuk, SaskTel and the Manitoba School Board. Other licence holders in the band include Look TV, Image Wireless and Skycable who are authorised to provide multi-point distribution services and limited Internet access facilities.
Some networks building on pre-WiMAX equipment have had relative success. For example, the city of Summerside, Prince Edward Island has co-ordinated a private-public partnership to provide pre-WiMAX wireless Internet access to households and businesses in the western half of the province. The project has been funded largely through an award given by Industry Canada under the Broadband Pilot Program.
Denmark
In December 2000 Denmark issued a number of nationwide fixed wireless licences in the 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands. Additional licences have been issued in the 10 GHz band. The availability of FWA is very high in Denmark. SONOFON, who was assigned two FWA licenses in 2000, has since 2002 covered more than 90% of the country.
The FWA licence holders Danske Telecom and butlerNetworks both launched pre-WIMAX services in the beginning of 2005, primarily with a focus on the business segment. butlerNetworks has started up a nationwide offering of pre-WIMAX services with minimum speeds of 4 Mbit/s. The pre-WIMAX services are promoted and sold through partnerships with service providers on a wholesale basis, based on butlerNetworks' existing FWA-network.
Danske Telecom has made a rollout of pre-WIMAX services in some parts of Copenhagen. The company has announced a further rollout of pre-WIMAX services in other cities in 2005. Services are sold with speeds from 512 kbit/s up to 2 Mbit/s with a setup fee of USD 350. Monthly prices are USD 47 for 512/128 kbit/s services and USD 111 for 2048/512 kbit/s services.
Finland
Many of the wireless broadband projects in Finland have been undertaken by municipalities and
power companies. Typically an area is blanketed with Wi-Fi hotspots operating in license-exempt spectrum that can then be connected together via pre-WiMAX WLL technologies in licensed frequency ranges.
One example is a MAN being built by Vantaan Energia (an energy company) in Vantaa and surrounding cities. The network is currently accessible by 40 000 residents who have access via Wi-Fi. The company plans to reach 80% of households by the end of 2005. Another energy company, Mäntsälän Sähkö is rolling out a pre-WiMAX network in the mid-Uusimaa region. The network is expected to cover a population of 60 000 over an area of 800 square kilometres.This will be owned and operated by the local energy company Mäntsälän Sähkö, and will cover an area of over 800 square kilometres. Upon its completion in early June the new network, MSoynet X, will cover a population of over 60 000 people.
France
In July 2005, the regulator, ARCEP, adopted two decisions proposing to the Minister of Industry a procedure for the delivery of wireless local loop authorisations. This proposition would allow for the delivery of two new authorisations in the 3.4-3.6 GHz band that would be held independently in each region. In regions where the demand does not exceed the available frequencies, ARCEP would issue authorisations on a infirst come first servedls basis. In areas with more demand for licences a iibeauty contestla selection would be held to allocate the authorisations. Frequencies would also be made available in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band and allocated if needed. Finally, some projects could use the 5.4-5.7 GHz band which should be opened to wireless access systems by the end of 2005 for wireless equipment respecting the version of the ETSI standard including DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection). The Minister of Industry should publish the procedure proposed by ARCEP, that indicates the rules and the timetable of the whole procedure, in the Journal Officiel.
Altitude Telecom operates an LMDS network in the 26 GHz range but has recently acquired a licence in at 3.5 GHz which will be used for pre-WiMAX equipment. The network will service small and medium sized enterprises. The WiMAX network will also be leveraged to deliver voice services using Voice over WiMAX. France Telecom has deployed iepre-WiMAXlS trials based on the 802.16-2004 standard in the towns of Amilly, Lehon and La Salvetat. WiMAX backhaul connections were used for one part of the trial to deliver connectivity to Wi-Fi hotspots. The France Telecom trials were allowed to take place in the 3.5 GHz range in the trial areas. Other companies such as Hub Telecom (formerly ADP Telecom) have also announced their intentions to run WiMAX trials. 71 but Altitude Telecom is the only operator that currently has a 3.5 GHz license.
While Altitude and France Telecom are using or trialling pre-WiMAX equipment, the mobile operator Orange is currently trialling an HSDPA network in Lille that is considered a competitor to WiMAX.
Germany
The German regulator, RegTP is in the process of recycling WLL frequencies to be used by newer technologies such as WiMAX. RegTP has proposed a simplified licensing process, named ialicensing lightln that would make it easier for WiMAX providers to start offering services. Frequencies for WiMAX are available in the 3.5 GHz range and will be available for use in 2006.
Deutsche Telekom will deploy pre-WiMAX technologies in a pilot project. The German national
regulatory authority has assigned limited test frequencies for trials scheduled to begin in the region of Bonn in mid-2005.
Ireland
Ireland has several operators with pre-WiMAX plans or trials underway. Irish Broadband has 3.5 GHz licenses in 16 cities including the larger cities of Dublin, Galway, Cork, Limerick and Waterford. 74 It also will implement pre-WiMAX equipment in the 5.7 GHz range 75 . Irish Broadband currently has just under 10 000 subscribers.
The mobile operator O2 has also been trialling WiMAX services in Gleann Cholm Cille, Donegal, in the northwest of Ireland. The service connected residences, businesses and schools for a four month trial beginning in early 2005. DigiWeb has also announced the development of a WiMAX network and hopes to cover 50% of the country by mid-year 2005.
Japan
The Japanese government is currently in the process of deciding how to allocate spectrum for wireless broadband providers. No decision has been taken yet some companies have announced their ambitions to offer city-wide WiMAX networks in Tokyo. The communication operator Yozan would like to start WiMAX trials in Tokyo by mid-year 2005 and would initially start by building out a fixed WiMAX network. The operator has said it will then upgrade the network to the mobile WiMAX after IEEE finalises the standards and the WiMAX Forum begins certification testing. 79 The network is expected to consist of 600 cells that cover the greater Tokyo metropolitan area and surrounding eight prefectures. Tokyo is already wired for DSL and fibre and broadband prices are among the cheapest in the world so Yozan will try to compete on price and mobility.
Korea
The Korean government allocated three WiBro licenses based on the IEEE 802.16e standard in the 2.3GHz range for wireless/mobile Internet services. Korea WiBro rollout will likely be the first high-speed mobile broadband service of its kind in the world. KT is working to provide a WiBro demonstration service in Busan in November 2005 for the APEC summit meeting. Korea leading operators KT (fixed) and SKT (mobile) will launch WiBro services commercially in 2006. KT is set to offer services in April 2006 with SKT following in June 2006.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg has started a consultation on the situation of wireless networks. Previously Luxembourgs regulator (ILR) assigned licences to WLL-operators in two frequency bands, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz with specific restrictions meant to avoid interference. The new consultation is also considering the 5.8 GHz band and has been included as part of the discussions within the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT).
Netherlands
The Dutch operator Enertel's has a pre-WiMAX service available for businesses in the Rotterdam/Rijnmond region using the 3.5 GHz range. The service will be extended to Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven, and is anticipated to have reached national coverage by late 2005. 83 The results of the pilot project have been successful.
New Zealand
New Zealand created the rights for two 3.5 GHz radio licenses for fixed wireless use in 2001. The
allocation proposals for the spectrum bands were published in March 2004, with priority given to telecommunication suppliers that are part of the Provincial Broadband Extension Project (PROBE). The use of the 3.5 GHz range means that WiMAX equipment could be easily used by providers once it is certified.
Spain
The Spanish wireless ISP Iberbanda has been operating an LMDS network in Spain since 2001 in the 3.5 GHz range in 72 cities. Recently Iberbanda announced they will be installing pre-WiMAX equipment in two Spanish regions, Andalusia and Catalonia. The LMDS network provides services to businesses but the implementation of pre-WiMAX equipment is meant to lower prices for connections to consumers and small businesses. The upgrade of the Iberbanda network to pre-WiMAX equipment is not surprising given the much higher costs of proprietary LMDS equipment.
Switzerland
Switzerland has opened a public consultation on the licensing of broadband wireless technologies in an effort to determine the demand for licences in the market and the most effective way to allocate them. The results of the consultation should be made public in the summer of 2005. Shortly thereafter, ComCom will decide the number of licences and how they will be awarded. For the moment, BWA technologies would be limited to licensed usage in the 3.4 to 3.6 GHz frequency bands. Licence-exempt use could be possible in the 5.7 GHz frequency bands with restrictions on power levels.
Sweden
The local authority in the rural area of Skelleftea commissioned a WiMAX network to provide Internet access to 71 000 people over an area of 7 200 square kilometres. The network will use pre-WiMAX equipment, will likely operate in the 3.5 GHz band and is the result of a joint effort between TeliaSonera, Mobile City and the local university.
United Kingdom
BT has announced they will deliver 100% wireless broadband coverage in Northern Ireland before the end of 2005 using pre-WiMAX technology. BT initially started four trials which took only 6-8 weeks to put into place. The initial trials linked 120 customers via wireless broadband for a period of 6 months.Customers were able to connect to the Internet at speeds between 512 kbit/s and 1 Mbit/s. Working from the success of the trial, BT is planning to expand the project and provide 100% coverage in Northern Ireland using licence-exempt spectrum in the 5 GHz band. One of the key benefits of the pre-WiMAX network being put in place by BT is its symmetric data speeds. Unlike ADSL where upload speeds are much slower than download, symmetric services can offer high-speed uploads to businesses and consumers.
United States
Potential WiMAX providers in the United States have focused on the 2.5 GHz and 5 GHz ISM bands. The 3 400 Π3 650 MHz range is allocated for use by the radiolocation service (radars) on a primary basis and does not contain provisions for use of fixed or mobile systems. Clearwire is one of the first providers to offer pre-WiMAX services in this frequency band with its network in Jacksonville, Florida. The service covers 120 000 inhabitants in an area of 100 square miles. Clearwire has acquired a large number of licenses and currently has services in Dayton Beach, Florida; Abilene, Texas, and St. Cloud, Minnesota. Monthly prices are USD 27.99 for 512/128 kbit/s service and USD 47.99 for 1500/256 kbit/s service. The United States recently opened up new spectrum for wireless broadband in the 3 650 to 3 700 MHz range that uses a hybrid approach of licensed and unlicensed regulatory models. The band will require the use of contention-based protocols that will minimise interference. The goal is to stimulate the expansion of wireless ISPs with limited resources.