WiMAX equipment installed in Bulgarian ski resort Bansko

Nexcom Bulgaria, the local telecom operator, said it has provided a blanket WiMAX coverage in ski resort Bansko. Nexcom said it picked Bansko for the deployment of its pilot point-to-multipoint network for its compact urban development and because its telecom infrastructure was overdue for an upgrade. The complaint of the hotel owners was that the city's high-density buildings made for a spotty telecom coverage, said Nexcom marketing manager Milko Georgiev. The Nexcom WiMAX equipment installed in Bansko in late 2006 also provides coverage in nearby Dobrinishte, Bania and Razlog. The insufficient density of the network does not yet allow Nexcom to market its WiMAX services to end-consumers. Nexcom plans to reach 100% WiMAX coverage in Sofia by the beginning of the summer, up from 40% at present. The company provides WiMAX coverage also in Burgas, Plovdiv, Varna and along the Southern Black Sea coastline. All Bulgarian cities with over 50,000 population will go WiMAX by the end of 2007, said Georgiev. Mobiltel, the nation's dominant wireless telecom, provides WiMAX coverage in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna since 2006. The company has said it is ready to provide fixed voice services on WiMAX. Trans Telecom is another local telecom operator with a point-to-multipoint permit. The company started the rollout of its nationwide WiMAX network with coverage in Kardjali, Southern Bulgaria. Max Telecom, the 4th local company with a point-to-multipoint permit, announced in January it had contracted US-based broadband wireless access solutions provider Navini Networks will provide equipment for its mobile WiMAX products. No information is available on the progress the company is making on its WiMAX network.