Unwired
Unwired Australia Pty Ltd was an Australian company dedicated to fixed wireless telecommunications network offering carrier grade Internet services. They provided coverage in Melbourne and Sydney. As of 8 March 2010 Unwired had 52,320 customers and 97 employees. The technology used by Unwired was provided by American manufacturer Navini Networks[1] and Venturi Wireless Solutions.
 Unwired modem and logo | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | 11 August 2000 |
| Headquarters | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Key people | Ryan Stokes, Chairman Martin Mercer, CEO |
| Products | Wireless broadband |
Number of employees | 97 |
| Parent | Optus |
| Website | unwired |
Unwired utilised a wireless network similar to WiMax, using base towers that broadcast a microwave signal, offering speeds of up to 1024kbit/s. The Unwired network was the first data only network providing Internet services in Australia.
Unwired customers used external modems to connect to the wireless network. Unwired technology was portable, but not mobile - the technology does not operate well while the receiver was in motion. The network operated at 3.5 GHz within a spectrum exclusively reserved for use by Unwired. Unwired offered free technical support 7 days a week plus public holidays.
Optus bought out Unwired and shut down the Unwired network at midnight on 28 February 2013.
Corporate acquisitions
The Seven Network Limited's subsidiary Network Holdings acquired Unwired in 2008[2] for a reported $127 million. Seven Network Limited owns 50% of the Seven Media Group which owns the Seven Network. At this time Unwired CEO David Spence left the company. Unwired was later consolidated into Seven's wireless broadband division, Vividwireless which was based in Perth.
Australia's second largest telecommunications company, Optus, announced in February 2012 that it would buy Vividwireless from its parent Seven Group, for a total cost of $230 million. Optus said this would create a new 4G mobile broadband network in Australia.[3][4]
Closure
Optus shut down the Unwired network at midnight on 28 February 2013 so that the spectrum can be used for its 4G network. Subscribers had to migrate to another internet service provider.[4][5] Prepaid subscribers were given a refunds on remaining credit and pro-rated refunds on unused data.[6]
References
- "Attractions of testbed Oz". PBA. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006.
- Seven Network Limited Annual Report 2008 Archived 5 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- "Optus buys Vividwireless for $230million". delimiter.com.au. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
- Taylor, Josh (20 February 2012). "Optus buys Vividwireless for its Spectrum". zdnet.com.au. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
- O'Shea, Dan (7 November 2012). "Australia's Optus to shutter Unwired WiMAX network in 2013". fiercebroadbandwireless.com. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
- Unwired. "Network Closure FAQs". Retrieved 8 May 2013.