Another Non-WiMAX Roll-out Credited To WiMAX

What is up with people calling any Broadband Wireless Technology WiMAX? It’s happened many times before, and it’s not exactly clear to me whether this is good or bad for WiMAX and its rivals. Is WiMAX the Kleenex, FedEx, or Xerox of mobile broadband – that is, the popularity of the term itself has encompassed the entire sector and now represents an entire class of products? In the latest, a Kiwi publication and then global blogs have picked up a spectrum dispute in New Zealand, where apparently there is “A grand plan by Woosh to launch a high-capacity WiMax broadband network…” Funny thing, though. Woosh, a wireless broadband ISP that also offers VoIP over the network, does not use WiMAX, but they have operated a commercial UMTS TDD network since 2003. Woosh’s current plans are to continue expanding this network with their existing spectrum licenses.

disclosure: Though I don't work for IPWireless, the company behind the UMTS TDD network equipment, my firm does work for the Alliance of UMTS TDD operators, which is how I am familiar with Woosh.