Wireless ntl

Ramrod · 04-03-2004, 21:56

Quote:

NTL -- in partnership with the Milton Keynes Council -- is in the process of extending its existing small-scale high-speed wireless network in the city by erecting a base station with a 10km range.

The wireless service will be operated on a trial basis at first, costing Ã‚Â£24.99 per month for a 600-kilobit-per-second (Kbps) link. There are several hundred places available for local people who want to take part. If the trial -- which uses the 10GHz band of the radio spectrum -- is a success, it's likely that NTL will move to full commercial deployment.

04-03-2004, 22:01

They've been trialling it for a while now. I don't know too much about it except that you access it using a WHAM (Wireless,Highspeed,Access,Modem). I met the guy who developed it the other month.

Ramrod · 04-03-2004, 22:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pierre

I met the guy who developed it the other month.

Ooooerr

...and did he have anything interesting to say about it?

asdf · 04-03-2004, 23:10

I believe it uses all the same stuff that was deployed on the London WHAM trial, doesn't it?

Let's hope that ntl can bring broadband to a notorious black spot.

asdf · 04-03-2004, 23:11

LOL, just read the article and it seems they used the same "broadband blackspot" words as me, I didn't do that purposefully, honest Guv...

Ramrod · 04-03-2004, 23:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by asdf

LOL, just read the article and it seems they used the same "broadband blackspot" words as me, I didn't do that purposefully, honest Guv...

A telling slip of the tongue....you have been placed here by ntl, haven't you?

erol · 04-03-2004, 23:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by asdf

I believe it uses all the same stuff that was deployed on the London WHAM trial, doesn't it?

I believe so. The same stuff that was trialed in london and then not roled out. I was living in west ealing at the time (an ex videotron - no cable BB area) and applied for this trial. Had a couple of 'engineers' come round to my third floor flat, wave an aerial around and pronounce "nah - no good here mate" and that was the end of it. Let's hope the MK trial is more sucsessful than the London one.

I think they will have a hard time in MK. After Ionica's colapse I suspect there is much suscpion of 'wireless sloutions' in MK residential population.

asdf · 05-03-2004, 14:25

I didn't think Ionica was that big in MK?

Anyways, I imagine this is going much better than the London trial already as the london trial didn't even have a payment invovled, did it? Pure free?

erol · 05-03-2004, 17:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by asdf

I didn't think Ionica was that big in MK?

Anyways, I imagine this is going much better than the London trial already as the london trial didn't even have a payment invovled, did it? Pure free?

As I recall Milton Keynes was the pimary test bed for Ionicas wireless telphony service. When Ionica went bust it led to many disgruntled rediential customers (my brother was one of them). In the deal cut by Oftel with BT to pick up the pieces of this failure all of the Inoica number ranges (that had been given to residental customers) were returned to BT. I know my brother lost a number that he was very attached too during this process. As I say I suspect that many Milton Keynes residents remeber the fiasco with Ionica and will remain cautious about future wireless systems, having been burnt once.

I do not think the London Trial was free, but then I do not know if they ever actualy got any rediential customer using the system. As I say I was on the third floor in West Ealing with one of the best views of the surrounding area (and where I understood the NTL base satation was) and yet was deemed to not be able to get a stong enough signal to allow service.

Let's hope the MK trial is more sucsessful.

asdf · 06-03-2004, 13:40

I thought Cambridge was the test best for Ionica?

We (Leicester) got it not long after there.