AT&T launches first U.S. Mobile WiMAX network

AT&T launches first U.S. Mobile WiMAX network
By Kevin Fitchard

AT&T said today it has been running an under-the-radar commercial Mobile WiMAX network in Pahrump, Nev., since this summer, using the technology to offer fixed broadband services in a market where it current does not offer DSL.

Soma Networks won the contract for a multi-base-station rollout in the town of 45,000 people outside of Las Vegas. While AT&T is using the technology in a fixed deployment, it is using Soma gear based on the IEEE 802.16e specification, which Soma plans to submit to the WiMAX Forum for certification in the 2.3 GHz Wireless Communication Services (WCS) band. Several other service providers have deployed fixed WiMAX networks, based on the 802.16d standard and proprietary broadband wireless networks, while several more have announced plans to trial or deploy Mobile WiMAX networks. AT&T, however, is the first carrier to have a commercial network using Mobile WiMAX technology in the U.S.

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