ArrayComm Inc. has unveiled a deal with CommWorks that enables the startup to link its proprietary iBurst base stations with its partners' data networks for their joint Australian wireless broadband adventure (see ArrayComm: Oz First, US Next?).

ArrayComm and its partners, which include Vodafone Australia and OzEmail, announced their plans for a high-speed wireless data network in June. The partners will announce on Tuesday that the network -- the first of its kind -- is now live. By the end of the first quarter 2003 they plan to have ten iBurst basestations in place, covering an area of 150 square kilometers in Sydney.

CommWorks, a 3Com Corp. (Nasdaq: COMS) company, has added software to its Total Control 1000 packet data service node (PDSN), a "wireless router" typically used in CDMA networks, to enable it to handle traffic from the iBurst system.

This is the final piece in ArrayComm's iBurst puzzle. Users can connect wirelessly at data transfer speeds of around 1 Mbit/s, using modem chips built by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) (NYSE: TSM), to the base stations put together by Kyocera Corp. (NYSE: KYO). The PDSN from CommWorks connects this radio network with Vodafone's and OzEmail's IP backbone networks.

There is a monetary value to the ArrayComm/CommWorks partnership, but the two firms are not revealing any details.

The two firms also say that at some point they may look at opportunities outside Australia -- specifically elsewhere in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. government sector.

— Dan Jones, Senior Editor, Unstrung www.unstrung.com