At Supercomm 2005 this week, BellSouth announced plans to deploy wireless broadband service to select areas of Athens, Ga., in August and extend it to Florida cities later in the year.

The BellSouth FastAccess Internet Service will provide Internet access to customers at 1.5M bit/sec downstream. The system transmits signals between local radio towers and a small non-line-of-sight desktop subscriber modem that plugs into a desktop or laptop computer, or a local router.

The wireless broadband modem transmits data to and from nearby radio towers or tall structures using BellSouth licensed WCS and MMDS radio spectrum. BellSouth is using Navini Network’s Ripwave pre-WiMax equipment for the deployment.

The wireless broadband service is designed to deliver broadband connectivity to rural communities and in areas where ADSL may not be available. BellSouth has not finalized pricing for the service, but it could be comparable to its 1.5M bit/sec landline DSL service, FastAccess DSL Ultra, which costs $43 per month.

BellSouth has been conducting wireless broadband trials in Daytona and Palatka, Fla.