Life Without DSL

Paul Adams knows how to hire talent, secure financing, deal with regulators and build broadband networks. He got his education as a founder of cable provider RCN and as chief operating officer at DSL provider Flashcom. Now Adams plans to take on the cable and DSL technologies offered by his alma maters to serve a market starved for bandwidth — this time with wireless.

Adams, the CEO at Broadband2-Wireless, experienced the DSL quagmire firsthand at Flashcom. "40% of customers were installed, and 60% were tortured," he says.

BB2W's Airora service, set to launch on April 16 in Boston, will target residential and business customers. Initially billed as a fixed wireless service, BB2W plans to eventually support mobile wireless Internet access as well.

Broadband Made Simple

If that business plan sounds a lot like Metricom, then Adams is only too happy to point out differences. While Metricom is both an equipment manufacturer and service provider, BB2W will remain equipment agnostic. Metricom's business model is problematic because the company has to deal with utilities and get permission from municipalities to install its transmitters on telephone poles and lampposts, say analysts. To skirt that issue, BB2W will colocate equipment atop midrise multidwelling units.

"It's a smart strategy that's similar to the cellular strategy," says Ken Hyers, senior analyst at Cahners In-Stat Group. "You build up in urban areas because that's where the users are."

BB2W, which just signed a deal with EarthLink, plans to partner with other ISPs and telephone companies that can't provision high-speed access like DSL cost-effectively on their own. By offering speeds up to 2 mega- bits per second, Adams says BB2W will burn past the up to 900-kilobit-per-second rates currently offered by cable. The company also hopes to differentiate itself from other Internet access technologies through its ease of ordering and installation.

"This business is driven by the nightmares DSL has created," says Adams. A modem with antenna plus service will cost $50 a month for a one-year contract. Customers can order service over the Internet and receive their ready-to-install equipment within 24 hours, Adams says.

BB2W, which is testing Airora now, should be available in southern Florida in April and New York and Los Angeles in May, says Adams.

10-SECOND DRILL

Who: Broadband2Wireless

What: A fixed, and eventually mobile, high-speed wireless service aimed at consumers and businesses

When: Launching in Boston on April 16

Why: To serve bandwidth-hungry users disappointed by DSL and cable

How: Much $50/month

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in The Net Economy.