Hamilton said that if HSDPA was successful then the next requirement for carriers would be the need to support many customers.

"This would require spectrum and in the 3G bands there is very limited spectral capacity. This means they are limited in the number of customers they can carry without increasing the number of sites on the network and striking interference issues."

Unwired has stated that once WiMax technology is ratified it will move its service off the proprietary Navini Networks technology, which it currently employs, to the new standard.

Alongside the adoption of WiMAX standard there is also work underway to expand the capabilities of Intel Centrino chips to include the WiMAX bands. For consumers this will mean that every notebook will come with the capability to connect into either Unwired's or AUSTAR's WiMAX networks.

"The addition of cards in laptops would seem to be expensive and unwarranted to me, Hamilton said.