Big things begin in backblocks

By PETER GRIFFIN

A major new telecommunications competitor is in the offing as Government-owned Broadcast Communications readies its broadband wireless technology for nationwide coverage.

The broadcasting arm of TVNZ is upgrading its wireless network in a $5 million deal with Ericsson as part of a plan to offer wholesale high-speed internet and voice telecommunications services.

BCL will initially focus on providing broadband in rural areas, where it has identified a market of 20,000 dairy farmers and sharemilkers who were unable to take advantage of productivity gains offered by the internet due to have slow and unreliable dial-up links to the web.

Its technical director, Keith Ladyman, said Ericsson engineers were already working to add the IP (internet protocol) element to the network. Completion was expected by the end of January.

That will mean services ranging from basic internet browsing through to high-quality video conferencing and voice over internet protocol telephone calls will eventually be available in the regions.

In Taranaki, BCL had already partnered with Telecom for trials of wireless technology that eventually would be extended nationwide.

Trials arew also under way in Southland.

BCL managing director Geoff Lawson said the company would remain a wholesaler, selling its services to retailers such as Telecom and TelstraClear.

While Telecom was an obvious partner for broadband in other regions, it was not the only player BCL would link up with.

"Telecom is one of the companies we're looking to work with. No one company can do it on its own. We're working with more than one retailer," said Lawson, declining to name other potential partners.

BCL will now make bids in conjunction with other parties to provide broadband to other regions as part of the Government's PROBE project, which divides the country into 14 regions with the aim of providing broadband to 2700 schools.

Lawson said BCL had orignally offered a nationwide service that would reach all schools in one hit, but it was rejected in favour of regional developments.

Florida wireless technology specialist Airspan will provide BCL with the technology users need to access the service.

Airspan, Nasdaq-listed and based in Florida, was using a proprietary standard, direct sequence CDMA for broadband delivery, similar to the technology underpinning Telecom's high-speed mobile network.

BCL was testing Airspan's equipment in trials in South Taranaki and Southland, at data speeds of 128Kbps (kilobits per second), bursting to 512Kbps and as high as 2Mbps (megabits per second) over distances of up to 50km

In rural areas, about 70 per cent of users with the Airspan receivers will be able to receive wireless internet directly from BCL's towers. Repeaters will be used to reach a further 20 per cent, and satellite may be used to reach those in the remotest places.

BCL has been discussing with Australia's Optus obtaining capacity on one of its satellites.

Displaying an access package that will probably be available to subscribers, Airspan's regional director, Grant Stepa, said a standard package including a receiver, power supply and wireless access device allowing two voice channels and a high-speed internet connection was selling elsewhere for about US$1500.

The BCL development is being mirrored across the Tasman by wireless broadband provider Unwired, which also has Ericsson and Airspan as technology partners.

Unwired successfully bid in the 2000 auction of Australian spectrum licences in the 3.4 GHz band and holds spectrum licences for around 95% of the Australian population, or up to seven million homes.

Unwired's plan is to reach 95 per cent of the Australian population by the middle of 2004, something that will cost an estimated A$350 million. Unwired also was a wholsaler and having invested A$110 million in radio spectrum was now selling capacity to Telstra.

Lawson said BCL's focus would not initially extend to cities, where competition among broadband providers was reasonably strong.

"The dairy industry alone has identified potential productivity gains of $300 million in one year through the use of applications and tools made available to farmers over the internet."

Extending the access network nationwide could cost from $50 million to $100 million.


Airspan

Broadcast Communications

Unwired Australia