BOGOTÁ (WiMAX Day). The leading provider of WiMAX in Columbia has announced that it will extend its network to include the city of Bogotá. The planned expansion will include 30 base stations. According to a report in La Republica, Alexander Ceballos, president of Orbitel’s parent company EPM, stated that Orbitel will invest US$10 million in their network expansion this year and the expansion may eventually increase the total base stations of Orbitel in Columbia to 150.

The new service in Bogotá will first cover the interior of the city with a range of two kilometers, and will provide broadband internet access featuring data rates of up to 2 megabits per second. The network will support data-intensive services such as high-quality video streaming to laptops. Mr Ceballos further stated that Orbitel has improved its antennae base and the company believes that the network connection to CPE installations will be very fast.

Orbitel began its WiMAX business in 2002 with the support of Intel and the Ministry of Communications (Mincomunicaciones) in Columbia. The initiative intends to connect 45,000 customers to WiMAX in the next few years and reach sixty-percent of the Colombian population in more than 35 cities. Orbitel expects its network will reach 12 cities in Columbia in 2007.

Orbitel launched its first WiMAX network in July of this year in the city of Cali using Siemens’ WayMAX@vantage solution. The initial roll-out faced obstacles due to radio in the mountainous terrain of Cali, although Orbitel reports that the network is now operating at ninety-five percent efficiency. The city of Bogotá poses similar problems for network deployment due to the topography of the city.

Presently EPM is the largest holder of national licenses for 3.5 GHz spectrum in Columbia. The Ministry of Communications is planning to auction additional licenses of 3.5GHz spectrum beginning September 31. According to the communications minister María del Rosario, the auction is not intended to increase competition in the market, but to open rural areas to WiMAX, and the auction will pay attention to bidders who can service rural areas.