Australia"s SingTel Optus Pty. Ltd. has announced plans to trial wireless broadband in Sydney in a bid to take on rivals such as Unwired Australia.

Optus said it would start a technology trial for wireless broadband in Sydney in February, six months after Unwired launched its wireless plans in August this year.

Optus will conduct its trial in cooperation with wireless technology company UTStarcom Inc.

Unwired chief technical officer Eric Hamilton said the Optus announcement showed that wireless broadband was a legitimate alternative to broadband through a cable or telephone line.

Last month, Unwired and Optus agreed to an out-of-court settlement after Optus complained about the slogan "surf anywhere" on Unwired"s billboards. Unwired only provides coverage of 90 percent of the Sydney population.