MELBOURNE, Australia-Wi-Fi services are burgeoning in Australia with two companies announcing the launch of commercial services this week. One of the operators, Xone, which launched an Internet zone in a Sydney retail space, has signed Hewlett-Packard as its first corporate user and is looking at expanding into airports (see related “Asia-Pacific” news).
The other operator, AirPortal, plans to launch a Wi-Fi roaming service throughout Southeast Asia.
The announcements coincide with speculation that Australia’s second-largest communications company, Optus, may also begin a high-speed wireless service. Telstra acquired wireless network operator SkyNet Global in August.
