HEAnet provided financial and technical assistance to two WiMax network trials at Dublin City University (DCU) and National University of Ireland Maynooth.  Both trials were considered a success in that they were able to provide a campus wide wireless network for a selected number of users.  The results of the trials enables HEAnet to make informed decisions on a strategy for usage of 4G services as part of its mobile broadband strategy.

The feedback from the institutions involved is that the WiMax technology provided good broadband coverage on campus and at the campus edge.  Download rates of up to 2Mbits/s were possible, and in general was well received by the users.  Furthermore, the implementation of the trial was relatively straightforward, apart from some issues related to authentication which were overcome.  Also, the investment required for the trial was relatively small.

The report on the WiMAX trial at DCU was written by Robert Malone of DCU's Information Systems and Services.