Aussie wireless broadband firm hints at iTunes launch

An Australian WISP has signed a deal with Apple that suggests the Mac maker will soon open its iTunes Music Store down under.

Apple Australia apparently won't talk about a local ITMS. However, Sydney-based Wireless ISP Unwired, which launched this week, said it is teaming up with Apple and the focus of the deal is "music in particular".

So company chief David Spence told reporters at the launch, The Australian newspaper reports.

Spence didn't mention ITMS by name, but he did claim an Apple music download service will come to Australia. Unwired has begun reselling Apple's AirPort Express Wi-Fi access point, which supports iTunes-to-hi-fi wireless music transmissions. The WISP is also promoting Netgear Wi-Fi kit as a way of networking its wireless broadband connections.

Unwired maintains some 68 proprietary wireless broadband access points in Sydney and has plans to expand to Melbourne and the Gold Coast by the end of the year. The Sydney service covers 90 per cent of the city's population, the company claims.

Punters need to buy an AUD189 ($135) wireless modem and a monthly subscription plan costing from AUD35 ($25) for a 256KBps connection up to AUD120 ($86) for a 1Mbps link. Downloads are capped at between 300MB and 10GB, depending on the speed of the link subscribed to.

There's also a set-up fee of up to AUD200 ($143), depending the length of the subscription contract. ®

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