Photos: WiMax in action

Airspan is also trialling Internet telephony (VoIP) over its network. A multi-protocol iTone Prime gateway (blue and green, top) links the base station into the public switched telephone network via a soft switch (silver, bottom).

A call-controlling software package called VoiceMax is incorporated into both the soft switch and the base station, ensuring quality of service for voice.

Airspan plans to have about two dozen trial subscribers using VoIP and streaming video over the network within the next few weeks.

It has already had success using WiMax to provide the backhaul for Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as Sony’s PSP, Nintendo’s DS and a Sony location-free TV box.