While WiMax was being unveiled in recent days as Sprint Nextel's introduction to its nationwide wireless broadband technology in urban areas, the technology was being deployed where many think it will find an even more welcome home: in a rural setting.

Rural Telephone Service Co. in Kansas said its Nex-Tech unit is readying the service for small cities in its Kansas service area that haven't been served by DSL, fiber, or other broadband technologies. Many of the towers for the service were installed in six to eight weeks by Redline Communications Group, the company said.

"Deploying Redline's high-capacity 3.65-GHz WiMax base stations eliminated the issues we encountered using other wireless solutions, including mitigating interference, ensuring high levels of throughput and delivering the quality of services support we needed," said Justin McClung, Nex-Tech's Internet solutions manager, in a statement.

Redline, which installed its RedMAX AN-100UX base stations, said the initial customer deployments are expected to be done by November. The deployment also utilizes Redline's RedMAX SU-O outdoor subscriber units.

While Sprint's effort to roll out a nationwide WiMax network has drawn the most attention, highlighted by the successful launch of its Baltimore pilot deployment last week, some rural WiMax deployments have been up and running for more than a year.

The Nex-Tech network will cover the residential market in and around Hays and Great Bend, Kan. The deployment met some special criteria, including the need for rapid deployment, and non-line-of-sight transmission capability. Each Redline base station is capable of supporting 500 users per sector. Nex-Tech expects to realize a quick return on its investment.