British Telecom, known as one of the world pioneers of the FMC (Fixed-mobile convergence) movement, is speculated to get now into the WiMAX game.
“British regulatory body Office of Communications (Ofcom) is due to open up spectrum in the 2.5GHz to 2.69GHz band in January 2008. Auctions are expected to be held late this year or early in 2007. These frequencies are prime WiMax ranges.”
It’s known that BT has been running some WiMAX tests on gear from Navini Networks Inc. in Birmingham.
“Sources expect BT to go aggressively after that spectrum.”They have to,” says one industry figure. “Otherwise Vodafone owns everything.””
BT’s bet on FMC involved a partnership with Vodafone in order to offer their users roaming between their WiFi hotspots and the UMTS Vodafone network. What would an introduction into WiMAX mean for BT?
PROS
– Independence of any partnership to offer services, creating owned networks;
– Establishing itself as a mobile communications company;
– Become a cost-advantageous competitor in the mobile telephony market;
– Offer services that no other mobile operator can offer and competitive prices.
CONS
– Betray its partner Vodafone;
– Creation of a fierce competence and turbid market which could reduce profits.
In my opinion, WiMAX is a clear plain bet that BT will pursue. The partnership betrayal would be though decision and could affect the relationship with other partners/providers so it has to be managed carefully. At the end, cell phone companies will definitely avoid to be drawn out of the market. Aggressive reactions and government intervention would be expected.
This information, as a speculation, has to be confirmed and I will post on it as soon as I get to know.