Unwired Australia Pty Ltd was an Australian company dedicated to fixed wireless telecommunications network offering carrier grade

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

services. They provided coverage in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Unwired had 52,320 customers and 97 employees. The technology used by Unwired was provided by American manufacturer Navini Networks and Venturi Wireless Solutions. Unwired utilised a wireless network similar to

WiMax Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options. The WiMA ...

, using base towers that broadcast a microwave signal, offering speeds of up to 1024 kbit/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 Singtel Optus Pty Limited is an Australian Telecommunications in Australia, telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, a suburb in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiar ...

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 for a reported $127 million. Seven Network Limited owns 50% of the

Seven Media Group Seven West Media Limited is an Australian ASX-listed media company. It is Australia's largest diversified media business, with an extensive presence in broadcast television, radio, print and online publishing. Seven West Media owns the Seve ...

which owns the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

. 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.

Closure

Optus shut down the Unwired network at midnight on 28 February 2013 so that the

spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

can be used for its 4G network. Subscribers had to migrate to another internet service provider. Prepaid subscribers were given a refunds on remaining credit and pro-rated refunds on unused data.

References

External links

*
Unwired Message Board
Australian companies established in 2000 Telecommunications companies of Australia Companies based in Sydney {{telecom-company-stub

Corporate acquisitions

Closure

See also

References

External links