WiMAX@Penang previewed and ready to roll

Well, good news! The whole of Penang will be WiMAXed soon enough. I've just heard that an agreement was signed today with Packet One (P1) for the latter to deliver WiMAX services in the state.

But don't hold your breath that it'll be available in your neighbourhood tomorrow. According to the time line, the first phase of WiMAX@Penang is scheduled to begin from October and the whole project may only be completed within 18 to 24 months. However, there is always the hope that it can complete sooner.

The first phase will deploy base stations to cover areas around George Town, Penang island and parts of Province Wellesley ... areas with a total consumer base of about 702,000 people. The second phase will cover Bukit Tengah, Kepala Batas, Nibong Tebal and Juru, with a catchment of 139,000 people, by the end of 2009.

It's claimed that the cutting-edge wireless WiMAX service will make Penang among the first cities in the world to experience broadband on the move. WiMAX, in case you are as blur as me, is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways and from point-to-point to full mobile access.

Speaking at the WiMAX@Penang preview, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said P1, a subsidiary of Green Packet Bhd and one of the first WiMAX telcos in the world, is one of the state government’s partner in the Wireless@PENANG project which was unveiled last week.

As part of the project, Penang Free WiFi was launched last week to make available free wireless broadband service to the general public, including the lesser served areas and communities around popular eateries, in campuses and lower income housing estates.

“Penang Free WiFi will cover the whole state including Seberang Perai by September 2010, if not earlier and the wireless broadband service, which leverages P1’s WiMAX signals that extend about 30 km from each site, will support a higher level of mobility as users will no longer be tied to fixed hotspots. They will be free to move around and be connected simultaneously," the CM said.

But although WiMAX@Penang will also be rolled out without incurring any capital investment and operating expenditure on the state government, the service is not expected to be free and will be offered only through subscription.