A company with backers including Vincent Tchenguiz, the property entrepreneur, hopes to cash-in on demand for a new wireless broadband technology after securing close to 10,000 rooftop antenna sites for leasing to operators.

Macropolitan believes that upcoming auctions of radio wave spectrums planned by Ofcom, the regulator, will fuel growing interest in “wi-max” - a more advanced version of wi-fi which has been dubbed “wi-fi with fries” - and other wireless technology.

Operators can always find their own sites, but Macropolitan pledges to make the process of launching a service smoother and quicker by pre-negotiating agreements with property owners across the country. The wi-max operators can then lease the sites from it.

The sites, Macropolitan says, are “prime” location, in proximity to high traffic and footfall neighbourhoods and high business or consumer populations.

Yesterday Ryan Jarvis, the company’s chief executive, said the group was on track to operate 10,000 sites by September. It has also signed-up Alcatel-Lucent as a partner.

The market for site rental for such wireless technology, is, the company believes, worth around £2.4 billion.

At present, business people on the move can link wirelessly to the internet through a technology called wi-fi. However, the technology's range is restricted to access points known as "hotspots", usually sited in cafes and airports.

In contrast, wi-max, operates over a much wider range - potentially several kilometres. wi-max should also provide faster speeds than wi-fi - up to eight megabits per second.

In the US, wi-max technology has been endorsed by the mobile phone pioneer Craig McCaw. He is betting on the service through his company, Seattle-based Clearwire.

In the UK, BT has indicated an interest in the technology, for which at present only two operators, including Pipex, are nationwide licence holders.

Many mobile operators fear handsets with wi-max chips will allow users to bypass their 3G networks.

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