Wireless network to share towers

By CHRIS BARTON

Wireless data network Walker Wireless has reached a "landlord" deal with TVNZ subsidiary BCL to co-site antennae on 400 of its broadcast transmission towers throughout New Zealand.

Managing director Paul Ryan said the heads of agreement ensured excellent coverage for Walker Wireless' rapidly expanding network - at present deployed in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and New Plymouth, and soon to roll out in Hamilton, Tauranga, Wanganui and Whangarei.

The network provides two-way wireless internet access for businesses at speeds ranging from 64Kbps up to 11Mbps over general-licence radio frequencies in the 2.4GHz, 5.8GHz and 900MHz bands.

General manager networks Rob Sweet said the "selling of high-tech hotel space" on BCL's 450 sites was core business. The Walker deal was for space only, whereas other arrangements such as for Vodafone and TV3 included maintenance.

Mr Ryan said the annual space rental involved a "not insignificant sum" but that Walker Wireless was arranging its own "back-haul" connections including fibre, copper and wireless links to the network.

Walker's focus now remains on delivering wireless data connections to business customers in competition with Radionet, recently acquired by hospitality company Wilson Neill, and Safetynet, which is 70 per cent owned by Savoy Equities. But Mr Ryan said deployment to residential consumers was in Walker's medium-term plans.

He confirmed Walker had been in negotiation with United States company Formus to buy some of its local multi-point distribution services (LMDS) frequencies, acquired from the Government spectrum auction in 1998 for $2.6 million. But the deal did not stack up, mainly because of the high cost of the customer premises equipment required to deliver over LMDS frequencies.

Mr Ryan did not rule out bidding in the coming spectrum auction for 3G frequencies. He said the firm was not aggressively pursuing that band as its use was more appropriate to telcos.

He said that raising the $20 million capital for expansion was progressing well but he did not rule out the possibility of a float.