Scottish ISP Transmitair Hint at UK Gigabit Wireless Expansion

Fifa-based ISP Transmitair, which specialises in rolling out gigabit broadband speed capable Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) networks to rural parts of Scotland, has revealed that they “intend to expand [their] network into England, Wales and Northern Ireland“, while also extending its base to include semi-rural and urban customers.

The proposed expansion was revealed as part of the company’s request for Code Powers from Ofcom, which are often sought to help speed-up deployments of new network infrastructure and to cut costs, not least by reducing the number of licences needed for street works. It can also be used to facilitate access to run new fibre via Openreach’s existing cable ducts and telegraph poles (PIA).

The provider specialises in building a hybrid fibre and wireless solution, which uses fibre to bring capacity (backhaul) closer to a community, which is then redistributed via wireless signals. We recall that their wireless networks often make use of solutions from Rapier Systems.

Rapier is a familiar name because they recently became one of the first broadband operators in the UK to deploy the new multi-Gigabit speed capable 60GHz cnWave (Terragraph) technology from Cambium Networks and Facebook (here). This is probably what Transmitair is using in some of their deployments around rural Scotland (e.g. Loch Leven, Strathspey etc.).

Sadly, the provider’s application for Code Powers doesn’t offer anything more than a vague indication of their desire to expand beyond Scotland. Otherwise, customers tend to pay from £29.99 per month for a 30Mbps (10Mbps upload) plan on a 24-month term, which rises to £79.99 for their top 1000Mbps (500Mbps upload) tier. The service includes a router, and those who do not qualify for a free installation must also pay a £59.99 activation fee.