For those too lazy to click on the link at the previous post (looks like USRF is poised to break out):
Inter@ctive WeekSeptember 14, 1998
Going Wireless In The Outback
By Randy Barrett
Internet Media Corp. sees bucks to be made in the boondocks.
The small, Baton Rouge, La.-based company is quickly snapping up Internet service providers (ISPs) in mostly remote sections of the American West. In the past two months, IMC has acquired six ISPs in the dusty outbacks of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Utah -- not exactly areas most growing access players consider hot territory.
That suits IMC President David Loflin just fine.
"Our strategy is, we think small communities are the place to be," he says.
IMC (www.internetmediacorp.com) is outfitting the newly purchased ISPs with wireless Internet hardware that delivers transmission speeds of 64 kilobits to T1 (1.5 million bits per second) over distances of up to 10 miles. The service, called SkySurfin', uses direct sequence spread-spectrum technology over 900-megahertz and 2,400-MHz bands. Each wireless cell can serve up to 300 customers. The system is a combination of off-the-shelf technology with a twist of proprietary know-how, Loflin says. Pricing starts at $39.95 per month for 64-kilobit-per-second service.
IMC's basic plan is to buy ISP properties that no one else wants, either because they are too small or too remote, and consolidate the billing and customer support functions. The company raised $600,000 in a private placement in June and is on track to build the company to 50,000 subscribers in the next 18 months. In August, IMC hired B. Edward Haun & Co. to assist in mergers and acquisitions.
"Our first goal is 10,000 subscribers, and we're there now," Loflin says.
The thrust into Internet access is a new turn for IMC, which opened its doors two years ago under the name Media Entertainment Inc. with a business plan to offer wireless cable services. But in July, the company shelved the cable blueprints and turned full-bore to Internet connectivity.
IMC doesn't plan to drop its new ISPs' terrestrial links. The wireless capability will be added as an extra service for both consumer and business access customers. Loflin admits that dedicated access is where the bigger money is, but he says there is still a place for profit margins with consumer subscribers.
"We feel strategic residential dial-up will be a growing business. Our model says we can be very profitable," he says.
Right now, Loflin isn't providing the names or purchase prices of IMC's new ISPs. They are based in Canon City, Colo.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Midland and Wichita Falls, Texas; and St. George and Salt Lake City, Utah. |
