Not surprisingly, wireless ISP Unwired, now a Seven Network subsidiary, quips that reports of the death of WiMax have been greatly exaggerated. Communications Day quotes Unwired's recently installed manager of regulatory and corporate affairs David Havyatt as saying  Unwired and the technology it seeks to roll out have been suffering "Mark Twain moments".

While backers of HSPA (3G) and developing LTE technology claim WiMax is dead in the water, Havyatt says: "We've got a technology that works and does data really well. You've got these guys struggling along on their networks – being surprised that users actually use data."

Unwired last week ran a live demonstration of mobile WiMax (802.16e), operating three towers throughout Sydney in the 2.3GHz spectrum range. Data is said to have clocked up to 13Mbps, compared with competitors' 3G devices downloading at anywhere from 670kbps to almost 3Mbps.