Vmax aims to become first WiMAX service provider in Taiwan

Vmax Telecom, a WiMAX licensee for the northern region of Taiwan, aims to roll out its WiMAX service in the third or fourth quarter of 2008, making the company the first official WiMAX service provider in Taiwan, according to company president Teddy Huang.

Vmax originally planned to kick off its WiMAX service in the third quarter of 2008. However, due to issues related to communications surveillance the company might be forced to delay its commercial operations to the fourth quarter or even to year's end, Huang said.

With some WiMAX licensees now planning to postpone their commercial operations to 2009, Vmax could still lead other operators to become the first WiMAX service provider in Taiwan if it commences its WiMAX operations in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Vmax, a joint venture between Tecom and Vibo Telecom, is the only WiMAX licensee in Taiwan that boasts two major corporate shareholders having cross-operations in information technology products and telecom services.

Tecom's parent company is the Teco Group, which is a leading vendor of household appliances and previously had a subsidiary engaging in 2G service, while Vibo Telecom is currently a 3G operator backed up by parent company the Kinpo-Compal Group.

Industrial observers in Taiwan are interested in watching if Vmax is able to utilize and integrate the resources available from the two groups to effectively provide WiMAX services and customized client products.

Although some industry observers are still skeptical about the maturity of WiMAX technology, Huang believes that WiMAX is bound to create new horizons in the existing mobile broadband network market.

WiMAX has the advantage over 3G or 3.5G technologies in terms of bandwidth efficiency, Huang stated.

In Taiwan, 3G services are available offering 384Kbps bandwidth and 3.5G services offer 1.8-3.6Mbps bandwidth, whereas WiMAX provides at least 2Mbps in bandwidth, Huang noted. However, 3.5G operators are still required to install a special E1 line to provide 1.8Mbps bandwidth for backhaul networking, which costs NT$100,000 (US$3,311) a year for maintenance.

Although fixed-line ADSL also provides services at bandwidths similar to those offered by WiMAX, WiMAX is still considered to have more potential in future services since WiMAX is a portable broadband technology, Huang argued.

Vmax Telecom plans to initially install 300 WiMAX base stations in Taipei City and will expand the number to 1,200 when its WiMAX services are able to fully cover its business area in the northern part of Taiwan, Huang said.

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