Communications operator and ISP Daisy Group, a newly combined business of Daisy Communications, FREEDOM4 PLC and Vialtus Solutions with over 40,000 UK customers, has sold its fixed WiMAX broadband wireless radio spectrum to the PCCW owned UK Broadband Limited for a cash price of £12.5m.

The spectrum had previously been used by FREEDOM4 to run a fixed WiMAX broadband wireless ISP service in Milton Keynes and was supposed to be worth around £4.2m. However they also contributed to FREEDOM4's part of a £800,000 cash outflow. The additional closure of their FREEDOM4 Ltd business should save another £1m.

The company also said it had disposed of its loss-making semi-separate Wi-Fi (FREEDOM4 WiFi) business to the existing management for a nominal amount of money.


By contrast the Hong Kong-based PCCW Group that owns UK Broadband Ltd, and which in turn runs the little known 'NOW Wireless' broadband ISP service, has nationwide WiMAX licences that also include mobile WiMAX (802.16e) services.

However, despite offering specialised services to government and public sector organisations in the UK, NOW Wireless doesn't appear to have touched its consumer wireless product in years. It is still offering the same outdated 1Mbps package with a 10GB usage allowance that it has been since as long as we can remember.

WiMAX is similar to Wi-Fi but capable of offering considerably faster wireless broadband speeds over a far wider range, it's mobile derivative is also one of the 4G Mobile Broadband candidates for next generation mobile operator services; albeit not so popular in the UK.