JERUSALEM (WiMAX Day). According to a report today in the Israeli financial paper The Marker, the Communications Ministry in Israel will soon grant licenses for WiMAX spectrum.

The report stated that the licenses will be made without up-front fees and will carry only an annual fee of NIS 17,500 ($US 4,080) per Mhz.

However, Golan Yosifoon, a spokesman for the Communications Ministry, told WiMAX Day that while the Ministry intends to publish its policy within the next two months, it has yet to be ratified, and thus anything related to the policy is subject to change.

Following several consultations in the last two years, the Communications Ministry may decide that licenses for WiMAX spectrum will be granted in the frequencies of 2.3 GHz, 2.5 Ghz, 3.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz. In addition, it is estimated that up to 250 Mhz will be allocated for use with WiMAX, which is in addition to 200 Mhz already set aside.

Numerous WiMAX Trials
While the Communications Ministry deliberates its licensing policy, it has nonetheless granted limited licenses for WiMAX testing to several companies in Israel during the last year.

The incumbent telco Bezeq was granted permission from the Ministry last year to begin testing WiMAX using 3.5 GHz spectrum. Bezeq thereafter began a trial in the southern Israeli city of Rahat, located in the Negev desert. Using BreezeMax equipment from Alvarion, the trial connected schools and medical facilities, which previously had not any broadband connectivity.

Immediately following the announcement of the Bezeq trial, many other companies in Israel applied for similar special testing licenses. Among them included HOT, a cable company that offers VoIP services, Golden Lines and Barak.

Many telecommunications companies in Israel that provide local access or Internet access are eager to gain licenses for WiMAX because it will allow them to quickly enter the market for fixed and mobile communication, and allow them to bypass the access network controlled by Bezeq.

The mobile networks in Israel are also planning to acquire WiMAX licenses. The leading GSM network Cellcom with 2.6 million subscribers, has been issued a test license from the Ministry, and Cellcom may offer WiMAX for its corporate customers, in addition to its UMTS services.

Another mobile network that has been issued a test license is MIRS, a subsidiary of Motorola-Israel. With more than 400,000 subscribers, MIRS is the fourth largest mobile network in Israel, and its subscribers are mainly in business and government.

MIRS has not deployed a 3G network and several sources report that MIRS is planning to deploy mobile WiMAX toward the end of 2007. In an interview earlier this year with VON magazine, Shaul Shmaya, MIRS director of engineering, stated that MIRS is updating its infrastructure “which will converge the MIRS network with VoIP and WiMAX.” Shmaya explained that MIRS subscribers “will be able to roam from MIRS to mobile WiMAX, and receive calls and emails on his telephone, PC or laptop.”