CEO of failed WiMAX operator calls the technology a "disaster"

We haven't heard too many specifics when it comes to performance of actual WiMAX rollouts (and let's be real, we're all kind of waiting for LTE at this point, right?), but Garth Freeman, CEO of Buzz Broadband, apparently shuttered the company's Australian WiMAX rollout in Hervey Bay, publicly declaring that for his company and customers the technology "failed miserably". Apparently beyond about a mile from the base station non-line of sight performance was "non-existent", regular indoor use produced latencies as high as 1000ms even just 400m away, and the company had to scrap its network for TD-CDMA service on 1.9GHz just to make sure customers weren't completely left in the cold. Maybe they should have checked for an errant satellite, eh mate?

[Via Slashdot]

[tokyo_suicide @ Mar 23rd 2008 11:30PM]

I've still never heard anyone say 'WiMAX'... So is it like "wee-max" or "why-max"?

[Kamokazi @ Mar 23rd 2008 11:42PM]

I would assumewhy-max, since it's based on Wifi (Unless you are pronouncing that weefee...)

[Yubastard @ Mar 24th 2008 1:51AM]

LOL @ weefee & wee-max

I'm gonna call mine wee-pee-pee or WiPiPi

[mymaclife @ Mar 24th 2008 6:43AM]

I think how to pronounce it is the least of their problems right now.

[UKNigel @ Mar 24th 2008 11:37AM]

In other news: WiMAX comes to the Wii, renamed to WiiMAX. Pronounced WeeeoooeayMakks.

[Sean @ Mar 23rd 2008 11:44PM]

If this is true sprint is gona be the building in your town with plywood over the doors and windows this was there last chance at survival they really put all their eggs in this wimax basket but i thought i remember hearing good things about wimax in korea so i duno

[Marc @ Mar 23rd 2008 11:49PM]

Punctuation is your friend!

Rogers Canada seems to be doing alright with Wimax.

[Aguiluz @ Mar 24th 2008 12:10AM]

Apparently, you ran out of commas and periods. Here, you can have some of mine:

.......................
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

You can ask me for some more if you like! I'm going to be happy to give them to you! :)

[happy_penguin @ Mar 24th 2008 2:16AM]

Oh be nice you guys! :D

[Memo @ Mar 24th 2008 2:28AM]

India has already rolled out a WiMAX network serving over 5,00 customers in 10 cities with more on the way. Check the Engadgetlink below. They're just doing something wrong over there I guess.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/04/tata-rolls-out-worlds-largest-commercial-wimax-network-in-ind/

[Memo @ Mar 24th 2008 2:30AM]

India has already rolled out a WiMAX network serving over 5,00 customers in 10 cities with more on the way. Check the Engadgetlink below. They're just doing something wrong over there I guess.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/04/tata-rolls-out-worlds-largest-commercial-wimax-network-in-ind/

[Memo @ Mar 24th 2008 2:32AM]

India has already rolled out a WiMAX network serving over 5,00 customers in 10 cities with more on the way. Check the Engadgetlink below. They're just doing something wrong over there I guess.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/04/tata-rolls-out-worlds-largest-commercial-wimax-network-in-ind/

[happy_penguin @ Mar 24th 2008 2:54AM]

A post so nice he had to post it thrice. :D

[notpeter @ Mar 23rd 2008 11:56PM]

I had Clearwire for a while in Greensboro, NC. Wasn't like mind blowing, but better than DSL. Shrug...to each to their own though.

[webon @ Mar 23rd 2008 11:56PM]

MAX fail!

[Bill Law @ Mar 24th 2008 12:41AM]

Didn't anyone read the fine Print????? ** May require the use of Aldus Lamp for distances over 399m **

[RC @ Mar 24th 2008 12:46AM]

Sprint doesn't have any idea what they're getting into.
Guess we should start discussing who's going to get their assets......

[tbirdman @ Mar 24th 2008 1:31AM]

my vote is a rival currently on cdma and won a major airwave frequence auction recently.

[Adrian Williams @ Mar 24th 2008 1:51AM]

Comcast and TWC will split Sprint like SBC and Bellsouth did with Cingular
/and guess what it was the prequel to their merger

[Hardcore @ Mar 24th 2008 9:17AM]

Yes, a major cell phone company that is betting its future on one technology has no idea of its real world performance. It will definitely not have conducted thousands of tests to test the viability of said technology. In fact, I bet their entire operating plan is based on coming to engadget.com and reading the brilliant insights of commenters like you.

[thethirdmoose @ Mar 24th 2008 9:43AM]

dibs on the HTC gear

[Christopher Price @ Mar 24th 2008 12:53AM]

We're all waiting for LTE? Wow, Sprint, Intel, Motorola, and Samsung just announced their latest media blacklist... guess who's on it?

- Christopher Price
http://www.phonenews.com

[CB17 @ Mar 24th 2008 1:11AM]

Don't blame Ryan for putting 2 and 2 together and just adding a little common sense to the article. Everybody knows it's true. I really doubt all the companies you mentioned to actually expect Sprint and Clearwire to carry the technology through all by themselves...well, maybe just Clearwire.

[Christopher Price @ Mar 24th 2008 2:34AM]

WiMAX is here today, and Clearwire and Sprint certainly see it working well... sorry some Australian carrier couldn't cut it. LTE is still pie in the sky... and Sprint is poised to have a two year head start on 4G.

I for one am not waiting for LTE. I'm going to have a lot of 4G fun starting next month.

- Christopher Price
http://www.phonenews.com

[Palmtree3000 @ Mar 24th 2008 8:14AM]

"Sprint, Intel, Motorola, and Samsung just announced their latest media blacklist... guess who's on it?

- Christopher Price"

You, personally, are on their media blacklist?

[snitch @ Mar 24th 2008 12:54AM]

Well all i can say to sprint shareholders now is, you should never Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch, lol.

[george @ Mar 24th 2008 1:14AM]

hi from bulgaria our wimax is working very good so maybe they have another problem.
10 km-15 km non-line of sight .www.maxtelecom.bg

[Kinneas @ Mar 24th 2008 1:15AM]

I use WiMAX (Inukshuk) at my cottage in Canada. We're outside their listed range and have lots of trees to deal with. We get a great signal that rivals DSL. For where we are, it's the only option short from running cable and we couldn't be happier.

Just wanted to let people know that not ALL WiMAX is a total failure.

[RC @ Mar 24th 2008 1:25AM]

1000ms latency is horrible at a 1/4 mile away. That helps qualify it as a failure. Not saying it is, but that latency needs to be fixed.

[Reader @ Mar 24th 2008 1:32AM]

That connection sounds fun for CS source. Everyone loves the guy with 900 ping.

[Kinneas @ Mar 24th 2008 1:34AM]

Aye. That's a massive failure. But that's certainly not what I'm getting. I average about 200-300ms at maybe 5-6km. I'd have to go check the specifics but I'm certain it's well below 1000ms.

As the point of my comment, you can't quote their poor specs to good specs elsewhere in the world. I think it's harsh calling the technology a failure. That roll-out was a massive failure =)

[Sam Winter @ Mar 24th 2008 2:10AM]

I agree, something is definitely wrong here. I've heard of much better performance than those sighted.
I mean for christs sake, I have an DSSS-based 2.4ghz multi-point microwave broadband connection("wireless ISP") that runs ~5 miles over a lake partially obscured by forest and I get a respectable 4Mbps down 2mbps up. And this is old school technology compared to something like Wimax, although I understand that Wimax is supposed to carry up to like 50km, right?

Still, For the USA, I'd much rather see LTE/HSOPA rolled out on 700mhz spectrum. Verizon already has a decent 3G CDMA/EV-DO network in place, and since they got the bulk of the 700mhz auction, hopefully they get ready to build-out LTE once we get the damn analog TV shut off.

[Blake Bowen @ Mar 24th 2008 1:40AM]

You do have to consider the standard is seven years old. Most wireless standards don't even last that long until they're replaced, and just now people are saying "WiMax isn't good enough to be worth it"?

[Adrian Williams @ Mar 24th 2008 1:59AM]

Sprint is DEAD , when you have 60 million customer Verizon and 65 Million customer Att going LTE maybe your 20 million user base (and dropping) company should listen up EH
/dipshyts should have never brought a company that could not use their existing network (Nextel IDen)

[Bryce @ Mar 24th 2008 6:55AM]

Sprint has 54 million customers, please check your facts before posting.

[Adrian Williams @ Mar 24th 2008 10:43AM]

54 and dropping Now you go fact check that
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070110_990434.htm
http://jaxn.org/article/2007/11/04/why-sprint-is-losing-customers-and-market-share/

[Sam Neill stole my baby @ Mar 24th 2008 3:17AM]

There are much larger rollouts of WIMAX services in Australia than that of Buzz BB, and successful to boot. One of the nations most prominent ISP's has a WIMAX network offering 6Mbps services into customers homes in regional and remote South Australia over significant distances. God only knows why the fellow from Buzz was given the microphone to blast WIMAX at it's own love-in.

[Sam Neill stole my baby @ Mar 24th 2008 6:31PM]

Further, this Buzz outfit has installed line of sight (LoS) 802.16d gear into a non-LoS environment.

[yvo84 @ Mar 24th 2008 3:54AM]

It works fine in plenty of other places..

[contreras @ Mar 24th 2008 4:05AM]

Problem with WiMAX is the frequency. The coverage mentioned in the article is true. With 2.5GHz (and even 3.5GHz in some countries) the coverage will always be less than a mile (indoor CPE's or PCMCIA cards) and that's a limitation that Sprint will face. Don't mean to be pesimistic, but their WiMAX "launch" (or XOhm) is still far away. If you remember the demos (soft launch) were very limited, and the last one was even in a boat, taking advantage of the water to show a ficticious "coverage".

WiMAX is not 4G. It has been recognized as a 3G standard, in spite of what Sprint's campaign wanted us to think.

[Josh @ Mar 28th 2008 1:39AM]

Very true, but LTE is in the same "category" as WiMAX according to Wikipedia. One article names them both Pre-4G, another names LTE Post-3G and WiMAX Pre-4G... Either way, they are both basically 3.5G. The requirements for a technology to be considered "4G" are pretty steep and neither of these technologies are there, although LTE will be closer than WiMAX (if it works as well in practice as it does in theory).

[Jeff Lewis @ Mar 24th 2008 4:47AM]

Again, since some of the posters are missing this: WiMAX and its close cousins are in use in many places and it's working fine for everyone OTHER than this one company.

Logic would dictate that you assume this guy is the EXCEPTION, rather than the norm in that case.

Canada's had nationwide WiMAX for a couple of years now and it works just fine, thank you. No 1s latency (btw - 1000ms = 1s). Korea's had it even longer and it works well enough that tons of laptops, UMPCs and even phones are building it in.

[Riley Freeman @ Mar 24th 2008 9:53AM]

whoa whoa whoa when did canada get wimax. i must be living under a bus cuz i have never heard of it in canada. im living in toronto does toronto have wimax? i am dead serious in these questions i follow engadget and most technology stuff and i didnt know any of this

[schmitty338 @ Mar 24th 2008 10:04AM]

Canada's had WiMax for quite some time now Riley...Bell offers 3Mbps WiMax is many major cities...there are also companies that provide similar service to rural areas such a farmers and the like.

[ayemac @ Mar 24th 2008 10:07AM]

I'm begging Engadget authors to place their periods and commas - ALL OF THEM!! - within quotes. I see this over and over, and it's like fingernails on chalkboards to me. Ooooooouch!

[Tracy in Cary @ Mar 24th 2008 11:39AM]

No problem"," ayemac"." I don't see how this will make reading any easier"," but we'll try to conform to your wishes"." But what about other punctuation like question marks"," exclamation points"," colons"," and semi-colons"?"

I asked one of our editors here and she said "That guy sounds nuts"."" But I understand how important this is"."

[Sam @ Mar 24th 2008 2:38PM]

I have WiMax for my internet. It is provided by Transcend Broadband here in Buckeye, AZ. The bcast radio is on a temp. tower right now. My latency is in the 80s pretty consistently and I get 6500/2000 transfer rates. It is kind of spotty right now, but in a couple of weeks they will be cleared to move the bcast radio to the permanent tower at a height of 190 feet. I am about 4 miles from the tower site. It works great when it works. The install tech was a contractor and didn't align my radio the best he could. But the new radio location will fix that. This was my only choice for internet, as we can not get cable or DSL.

[Chris @ Mar 25th 2008 8:37PM]

According to Simon Hackett (CEO of Internode, and a future deployer of WiMAX) Buzz Lightyear, and Flash Gordon are expecting WiMAX to be a mobile system. Rural users of WiMAX are quite happy to install directional external antenae. This accounts for the curious discrepancy.