Pure Wireless Play, Take 2

Contrary to our assertion of last month, there are a number of wireless-only ISPs in North America. Here are snapshots of two of the most experienced.

by Gerry Blackwell [April 24, 2000]

Never in the long history of this column has an article attracted so much attention as the one we posted last month on John Savage and GetOnTheAir Inc., a small North Carolina start-up that claimed to be the first wireless-only ISP in America.

Okay. So we've only been running the column for a few months. Still, we were inundated with mail.

Mostly it was enquiries about how to contact the intriguing but elusive Mr. Savage. But a few were at pains to point out that we should have checked his claim to be the first and only pure wireless ISP.

He's not. By about three years. Furthermore, some of the other wireless-only ISPs are practically in Mr. Savage's backyard.

So here, to set the record straight, are quick snapshots of two we investigated. We'll look at two more next time out. And after that, we're guessing we'll hear from a few more.

It's worth noting that most of these companies either have provided or do provide other wireless services than straight Internet access. So technically, GOT Air may be able to cling to its first-and-only distinction.

The other and more interesting thing they have in common is that all are involved in fairly ambitious, though in most cases not yet public, rollouts. Some say there is a role for existing wired ISP partners.

MIPPSNet
The oldest of the four appears to be MIPPSNet Online Inc. of Markham, Ontario (near Toronto). It began offering wireless ISP services over three and a half years ago—after first offering wireless point-to-point LAN extension services.

"We were definitely the first to offer wireless Internet in Canada," says president Sharon Prizant.

MIPPSNet offers bandwidth from 2 to 100 Mbps. The most popular services are the company's T1-Plus (2 Mbps) at US$1,100 a month and 3 Mbps at US$1,275—plus installation and configuration charges equal to one month of service.

The company uses 2.4 and 5.8 GHz unlicensed spectrum exclusively and mostly employs frequency hopping radio technology. For the higher bandwidth services, it mainly uses equipment from Proxim Inc. For lower-bandwidth services, it uses hardware from a variety of suppliers.

MIPPSNet has six transmitter sites feeding (wirelessly) into two main POPs. It covers the greater Toronto area and a few surrounding bedroom communities. MIPPSNet currently has about 50 customers, all with LANs, ranging from a few to, in one case, 800 desktops.

The company has gradually been broadening its theatre of operations from Toronto. But now it is weighing the merits of a much more ambitious rollout across the country.

This plan hinges on a yet-to-be-announced partnership with a nationwide celluar carrier (for radio and antenna colocation) and possibly partnerships with other (non-ISP) wireless operators, such as regional SMRs. MIPPSNet will probably not consider partnerships with other ISPs, though, Prizant says.

"If they don't have radio experience it wouldn't work. It's not just a matter of putting up a couple of radios and antennas and pointing them at each other," she says. "There's a lot more to it than that."

NewEraCom
Next oldest, by its own account, is NewEraCom LLC of Asheville, North Carolina (not to be confused with GOT Air's home base of Ashboro, NC). NewEraCom has been operating for "over three years," first in eastern North Carolina, and now beyond.

The company was founded by current CTO Don Davis after he headed a community project to wirelessly link a community college and public library. The technology worked so well, Davis decided there was a business in it.

NewEraCom provides "up to T1"—but typically 300 to 500 kbps—service mostly to small businesses. Prices start at $75 a month, plus a one-time $150 installation fee. The biggest of its 110 Asheville-area clients is the local school district, which has 700 connected devices.

NewEraCom has relatively new operations in Greensboro, NC, Greenville, SC and Chatannooga, Tenn. It is also in the process of opening up Polke County in North Carolina, a fairly rural area.

"Polke has really caught the interest of the state," Davis notes. "Governor Jim Hunt is very keen on 'bridging the digital divide.' And with wireless you need far fewer clients to justify a POP than with any wired technology. So we can go into a low-density rural area like this and still be profitable."

The company uses "primarily BreezeCOM" equipment. It has 20 access points in the Asheville area, a couple in each of the other communities.

Each access point unit can support up to 50 clients for shared bandwidth services - or one for dedicated high-speed access. Each site can have multiple access point units. The technology supports hops typically of nine to ten miles, but up to 20 miles under good siting conditions.

Although NewEraCom does currently have one ISP partner, it is uncertain about this model for expanding its territory in the future—for much the same reasons as MIPPSNet. In fact, in one case it bought out an early ISP partner because the company didn't have the expertise to adequately support customers.

NewEraCom is also involved in an unannounced "roll-up" in which a larger corporation is pulling together regional service providers to create a national wireless ISP presence. No further details were forthcoming.

—End