- Taiwanese WiMAX licensee Vee Telecom
Multimedia, which holds a license for WiMAX operations in the southern part of
Taiwan, recently announced Motorola and China's Huawei Technologies as the
finalists for its WiMAX base station tender, Taiwan's Commercial Times reported
on May 6, 2009. Vee Telecom expects to deploy a total of 2,000 base stations
from Taichung to Pintung, and the overall value of the project is estimated at
NT$4.0 billion (US$120.8 million; US$1=NT$33.1). In the initial phase, Vee
Telecom plans to spend NT$600.0 million (US$18.1 million) setting up 300 base
stations in Taichung City and County.
Vee Telecom signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding)
with Clearwire of the United States in April 2009. As per the terms of the MOU,
Clearwire will take a stake of less than 10% in Vee Telecom and will provide WiMAX
technology and consultation services for the Taiwanese carrier. It is reported
that Vee Telecom's choosing Motorola and Huawei was advised by Clearwire. Vee
Telecom has slated the commencement of its WiMAX service by the end of 2009.
- Canada-based Tranzeo Wireless Technologies has
teamed up with TRG (Teknologi Riset Global), an affiliate of telecom
infrastructure provider Indonesian Tower Group, for the supply of WiMAX
subscriber units in Indonesia, TMCnet reported on May 7. Shipments are expected
to begin in June 2009, and the two companies' production deal is valued at
US$840,000 initially. The two companies will collaborate on manufacturing WiMAX
devices at the 3.3GHz frequency band, in line with the Indonesian telecom
authority's decree that operators should migrate their existing services from
3.5GHz to 3.3GHz spectrum.