NTCA's The New Edge » DigitalBridge

Mid-Atlantic Members Win $1.5M for Last-Mile Broadband

Jesse Ward — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:43:43 +0000

The Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC), an organization of 55 private sector telecom companies, announced last week that more than $1.5 million has been awarded to its members for last-mile broadband initiatives.

MBC owns and operates an open-access fiber optic backbone network that provides wholesale optical transport services, collocation, dark fiber and tower construction/leasing in rural Virginia.

The monetary awards are 50/50 matching grants, and will enable deployment of broadband services for residential and business customers in unserved communities in Southern Virginia.

The grants were awarded to:

CenturyLink, for an ADSL deployment in 14 digital loop carrier serving areas currently served by dial-up Internet access;
DigitalBridge Communications, for expansion of its existing WiMAX deployment;
Jet Broadband, for high-speed wireless deployment in two targeted areas; and
Telpage, for a broadband wireless deployment.

The grants are funded by the Virginia Tobacco Commission, and are intended to promote economic growth and development in tobacco-dependent communities.

According to MBC, the awards will enable more than 15,660 residential and business customers in the southern Virginia areas to have access to high-speed Internet services, where previously the only option was dial-up Internet access.

Read the release.

DigitalBridge Partners with Media Company

Jesse Ward — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:17:38 +0000

Rural WiMAX provider DigitalBridge Communications (DBC) announced last Friday that it has completed an additional round of equity financing including a strategic partnership with Schurz Communications.

Based in Mishawaka, Indiana, Schurz owns and operates a variety of media companies, including cable systems offering high-speed data services, TV and radio stations, newspapers and online media. The company is dedicated to serving small and medium-sized markets nationwide.

Since launching its service in 2007, DBC has deployed WiMAX networks in 15 markets nationwide. The company brings fixed broadband wireless services to a variety of customers — residential, business, educational, healthcare and public safety — and provides mobile broadband services though WiMAX-enabled laptops, netbooks, USB adapters and other portable devices.

Under the terms of this new agreement, the companies will work together to offer mobile broadband and local content applications in Schurz’s territories. Joint commercial rollouts will be announced in 2010, with DBC engineering, constructing and operating the broadband wireless networks, and local Schurz teams promoting, selling and supporting product bundles.

“We have seen increased consumer demand and usage for broadband services from our cable operations, and our partnership with DBC will allow us to offer high-quality, high-speed, wireless broadband services to our customers and communities,” said Todd Schurz, CEO of Schurz Communications.

Of note, this current round of financing includes investments from the previous Series B companies: National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC), Paladin Capital Group, CNF Investments, and Novak.

View the release.
Read more: NRTC Invests in DigitalBridge and DigitalBridge Serves Rural Areas with WiMAX.

Nationwide WiMAX Operator Selects Alvarion

Jesse Ward — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:29:16 +0000

Colorado-based Open Range Communications Inc. has selected Alvarion for the nation’s largest Rural Utilities Service (RUS) funded WiMAX deployment.

Open Range plans to begin offering wireless broadband service in the fourth quarter of this year using Alvarion’s WiMAX 802.16e BreezeMAX solution. As part of this contract, expected to be more than $100 million over a five-year implementation, Alvarion will provide radio access equipment, customer devices and systems integration.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Open Range as they make history building 4G broadband infrastructure in a large footprint to provide personalized broadband services to consumers in un-served and underserved parts of the country,” said Tzvika Friedman, president and CEO of Alvarion. “Open Range’s vision to connect rural America will stimulate local development for many rural communities across the U.S.”

As first reported back in November, Open Range has obtained a $267-million loan from the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Utilities Program (RDUP) to deliver portable, and eventually mobile voice and Internet services, to customers utilizing WiMAX technology. To accomplish the task, Open Range is leasing 2.5 GHz spectrum from satellite provider Globalstar. Within the next five years, Open Range intends to provide service to 546 communities, across 17 states, serving six million people.

Open Range is among a new crop of wireless broadband operators which plan to target rural areas across the United States. DigitalBridge Communications also has committed to Alvarion’s WiMAX solution and is targeting communities with less than 150,000 people. Main Street Broadband plans to serve areas in Florida and Georgia.

View Alvarion’s release.