ARTT - Wireless Broadband Service Provider
ARTT owns 90 of 100 markets for 38ghz spectrum (licensed) wireless service. They are deploying now in cities like San Jose CA. This is a line of site, 100MB ring with antennas on rooftops, routers into the offices, and a central switch to a glass connection to the internet.
A customer can get T1+ speeds at competitive prices without the phone company's involvement. Long term, as wireless modems push into the gigabit range (coming FAST) and if ARTT has been successful at gaining customers at the t1 - 100Mb level, ARTT should be well positioned as a high bandwidth, wireless service provider of internet, private WAN via secure internet, telephony, and video services to the business market.
And if the line of sight requirement of the 38ghz band can be solved for (and I know that companies are working now to solve), or other, more robust wireless technology can be deployed (again, certain it is being worked on), ARTT can then branch into home office and eventually the home.
Remember when cellular phones were only for business because the cost was just to high? I can use my cell phone for long distance today at the same rate as home (+/1 a penny or two) AND make local calls cheaper than at home.
Eventually, wireless broadband will negate the need for glass to the house, and most certainly will make AT&T think twice about investing billions to lay glass or upgraded coax (whose current bandwidth is limited, even if better today than DSL over copper) to the home.
This is a last mile play. Remember when co-location was a sort of nebulous idea? The EXDS and ABOV investors benefited from sector rotation of the hot money players into these "new" "internet" plays? |
