Nortel to WiMax watchdogs: 'Get on with it'

Nortel's head of technology has hit out at regulators whose procrastination he feels is holding back the rollout of long-range wireless broadband technology WiMax.

John Rose, CTO of the networking company, has accused watchdogs of causing delays in WiMax deployments by not releasing spectrum quickly enough.

He told delegates at ITU Telecom World in Hong Kong: "The economics of next generation networks are so much better, there's no reason not to go forward. If you look at emerging technologies like 4G wireless, they cannot be deployed as a result of slow-moving regulation."

Rose advised the public bodies in charge of allocating available spectrum to release it more quickly.

He added: "Our message to regulators and government agencies is move faster. You are the gate. It's not a technological issue and it's not a customer issue."

The problem of spectrum availability has been acknowledged by the EC's information society commissioner Viviane Reding, who yesterday called for greater flexibility in allocation, advising regulators to "get out of the command and control system".

The regulatory hurdles don't appear to be holding back Nortel's WiMax plans in Japan, however. The company today today announced a trial of mobile WiMax in conjunction with Toshiba and the Japanese government.

Ishinomaki, a port city on Honshu Island in Tohoku's Miyagi prefecture, has been picked for the site of the trial.