London council supports high-speed network for local businesses

Businesses in Westminster are to be connected to a WiMax network this April.

The £4.4m system will have a range of up to seven kilometres and offer speeds of up to 10 Mbit/s. It is being set up by Urban WiMax, a UK company specialising in ultra-fast wireless internet.

Simon Norbury, Westminster Council's head of IT, says the WiMax project is a way of supporting business in the borough.

'It is something we are doing to help the social wellbeing and economic development of the area, supporting small businesses. It will cover the entire Westminster borough, even the extremities,' he said.

Some 250 businesses in the area have volunteered to be part of the WiMax network, which will allow access to video and voice services at lower costs than current WiFi services.

Damian Anderson, the operations manager for Mainspring UK, one of the initial participants in the Westminster WiMax system, says it will help with needs in the company that are not currently being met.

'It will provide us with a 3-10Mbit/s connection, and gives security and reliability. Crucially though it also gives a symmetric service, high speed download and upload, cheaply,' he said.