Unexpected companies target local broadband wireless market

When you think of companies that could bring next-generation wireless broadband services to Columbia, household names such as AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless come to mind. But at least four other companies are candidates, including the landline telephone service provider and a local start-up that plans to launch a service this fall.
Next-generation wireless networks use Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technologies, depending on the operator. Often marketed as “Fourth Generation” or “4G,” both types are at least twice as fast as today’s 3G cellular technologies and some DSL services, with peak download speeds of around 5 megabits per second in their initial versions.
AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless haven’t announced their 4G plans for Columbia; it could be another year before they launch based on how they rolled out 3G in major cities before upgrading smaller markets such as Columbia. That creates a window of opportunity for Full Stream, the local company that intends to start a WiMAX network in Columbia in a matter of months.
Full Stream ahead
Full Stream won’t sell broadband wireless service directly to consumers and businesses. Instead, it will own and operate a network that provides wholesale service to resellers.
Tranquility Internet Services (www.tranquility.net) “will be one of the first,” said Neal Miller, one of Full Stream’s founders and a veteran of several local IT and telecom projects. Richard Cravens, a former Datastorm Technologies product manager, became Full Stream’s operations manager in June.
Full Stream had planned to launch a service in early 2007, but Miller said several factors — including him being in a major accident — delayed the rollout. The company also had to obtain the necessary Federal Communications Commission spectrum licenses and lease towers for its antennas. It recently launched a preliminary website at www.fullstreamwireless.com.
“Our community needs this kind of infrastructure in order to go to the next level,” Miller said. “We’re ordering the equipment.”
CenturyLink’s $11 million investment
Full Stream isn’t the only company that’s already made a significant financial bet on Columbia’s broadband wireless market. CenturyLink, Clearwire and Frontier Wireless are three other companies that have FCC licenses to offer 4G service here.
In 2002, CenturyLink exited the wireless business by selling its cellular networks to Alltel, but six years later CenturyLink paid nearly $149 million for 69 licenses, including more than $11.2 million for Columbia.
Since then, the company has said little about its wireless plans here or anywhere else, except that it’s leaning toward using LTE and that it sees the technology as a viable alternative to DSL in rural areas. By launching LTE in small markets, CenturyLink also would be in a position to collect fees from other LTE operators — such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless — when their customers roam on CenturyLink’s network.
Similar to other LTE operators, CenturyLink’s rollout depends partly on the availability of LTE phones, modems and other user devices. The first ones should be available by the end of this year, followed by a wider selection in 2011.
“It would be 2010 before there would be any significant dollars” spent on building an LTE network, said CenturyLink CEO Glen Post in a February 2009 call with investors.
In the same 2008 FCC auction where CenturyLink got its licenses, Frontier Wireless paid nearly $2 million for a Columbia license plus another $700 million across the country, more than any other company except AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
Frontier is owned by EchoStar, the company behind the Dish satellite TV service. Frontier has said little about what it plans to do with its spectrum, but its ownership has fueled speculation that it’s considering offering a mobile TV service rather than broadband Internet access.
Is Clearwire coming?
Clearwire is the third newcomer with a spectrum license for Columbia. Based in suburban Seattle, Clearwire is owned by Sprint and several cable companies, though Mediacom isn’t among them.
Based on what’s happened recently in markets such as Kansas City and St. Louis, Clearwire’s license eventually could produce two separate WiMAX services for Columbia: one under Sprint’s brand and another under Clearwire’s Clear brand. Sprint’s ability to launch WiMAX here depends on when Clearwire builds the network, and neither company has announced those plans.
But it’s more a question of when rather than if. Clearwire said its network will cover 39 percent of the US population by the end of this year. That will require building networks in cities the size of Columbia. Earlier this month, it turned on networks in college towns such as Eugene, Ore., and Syracuse, N.Y.
Clearwire’s St. Louis network ends at Foristell, about 88 miles from Columbia. It could take another 10 towers to extend that network here. When it does, Clearwire probably won’t be alone, considering how many other companies are eying this market.