WiMax Trials Spreading With Airspan

Wireless equipment maker Airspan Networks and U.K. ISP Pipex Communications have begun a six-month WiMax trial.

The tests will take place in the Midlands region and deliver high-speed Internet access and Voice over Internet Protocol services, the companies said.

Initially, Pipex customers will Airspan's indoor WiMax modem to install their wireless broadband service. Future trial phases will assess the performance of laptops and handheld devices connected to the network through customer premise equipment.

Airspan spokesman Peter Aronstam declined to give an exact number of users in the trial, however he did say it would be "it will be a limited number in just one town." The Boca Raton, Fla.-based company is familiar with Pipex's market. Airspan has an operations center in Uxbridge, U.K.

WiMax is a developing technology that supports very high bit rates in uploading and downloading from a base station up to a distance of 30 miles.

In addition to bringing services such as high-speed Internet access and VoIP to rural areas, office parks and educational campuses, there are other early-adopter opportunities, experts say.

In recent months, a number of carriers in the U.S. and abroad, including AT&T and Sprint , have begun trials to see how the technology might fit into its systems and offerings.