Deployment of the new network is scheduled to start in February 2006, and Access Providers expects to be connecting customers by June next year. The company claims this will be the first WiMax network to be built in Australia based on the fixed WiMax standard, 802.16-2004, ratified by the IEEE last year.

Access Providers' CEO, Keith Ondarchie, said the network will be "fixed WiMax" meaning a receiver is installed at the business premises serving as the uplink for the company LAN. This is unlike mobile WiMax carrier Unwired which is aiming for the "mass market residential" space.

"Telstra is becoming more aggressive in protecting its network [but] wireless options make a significant change," Ondarchie said, adding he believes most businesses don't care if their data service is wired or wireless so long as it's good quality and reliable.

Ondarchie said Access Providers will offer up to 10Mbps of symmetrical bandwidth to the premises and the company's experience in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide, indicates customers will switch from DSL to a wireless service.

Access Providers will hang off Optus' fiber network for backhaul from every base station, and Ondarchie played down the prospect of a voice over WiMax telephony service "until we know" whether it can provide the same quality of service that people expect from a landline.