Monday March 13, 9:11 pm Eastern Time
TeraBeam unveils plans for high speed network
service
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 13 (Reuters) - TeraBeam Networks, a start-up
company that recently lured away a prominent AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - news)
executive, announced on Monday its plans for a high-speed network service
for corporations that uses lightwaves and does not need to be regulated.
The Seattle-based company unveiled its high-speed service at PC Forum, a technology industry
conference. Its service delivers data through the air and into windows, with a transmitter and a
receiver about the size of a small satellite dish. The device, which can be mounted in an office
window, sends and receives data on fiberless lightwaves at speeds of up to a gigabit (one billion
bits) per second and beyond, or about 600 times faster than a T1 connection.
TeraBeam's service does not operate in the U.S. regulated radio frequency spectrum. Its
transceivers operate in a free- space optical environment that is not currently regulated by the U.S.
Federal Communications Commission, so the company does not need to try and buy spectrum.
Because the service works through glass, there is no need for roof access to install the system.
The company said it is seeking to get rid of the bottleneck at the last mile of network delivery,
making the Internet faster for business users. Last week, the company announced that it hired Dan
Hesse, a 23-year veteran of AT&T, as its president and chief executive.
TeraBeam said that it will launch its service in the third quarter. Its investors include Softbank and
OakHill Ventures. Founded in 1997, it has had a prototype of its network service in trial for the last
18 months in Seattle.
Another company that disclosed its plans at PC Forum was FireDrop, a privately-held company
based in Redwood City, Calif., which is developing a way to combine e-mail, the Internet and
instant messaging in one. The company, founded last August, received funding from Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers, a well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm.
FireDrop executives demonstrated their technology, called Zaplet, which acts like an e-mail until it
is opened, and then it has a graphical look much like the Web. Zaplets can be used for sending
group e-mails, for scheduling, discussions, polls, invitations, and many other tasks. As each
individual answers the Zaplet, a graphical chart will be updated with all the replies. For example, a
party invitation replay would open up to show a pie chart that indicated 60 percent is attending and
40 percent is not attending.
``It's like the Web,' said David Roberts, co-founder and president. ``Anytime you open it up, it's
the most updated...It turns your e-mail into smart e-mail .'
The company plans to target both consumers and businesses. Because there are so many ways to
use Zaplets, Roberts said it has a development environment, so that companies can build their own
applications. Its technology is now in preview at zaplet.com.
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