Internet field technician blazes trail for new provider
Max Ariza spends his days on rooftops, installing radio antennas that might seem archaic in the days of high-speed Internet. But the powerful antennas can relay the Web across town using unlicensed radio frequencies – the same sort of wave spectrum used for walkie talkies or garage door openers – as a cheaper alternative to the big cable providers. Ariza, a field operations manager at netBlazr, doesn’t mince words when it comes to WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) as an option: “I can say that it is gratifying to be helping people everyday day to break free from their bundles and monopolistic practices.” Ariza goes into many older buildings that haven’t been rewired for the Internet, and instead of running cable, installs equipment that creates a network that feeds off the initial source, a fiber optic connection. Ariza spoke to Globe correspondent Cindy Atoji Keene about what it’s like to be part of a Boston start-up that is aiming to bring a broadband network to the city.
“There is no public information on the sort of coverage by various Internet providers, but my guesstimate would be that the 100-year-old telephone system (DSL) covers about 99 percent of the buildings in the urban Boston region, and the 50-year-old cable system probably covers 97 percent. After four years, netBlazr covers about half of those same neighborhoods and expects to be above 90 percent coverage within two years. netBlazr is a “fixed wireless” Internet service provider. Unlike mobile service providers (cell phone), which have optimized their networks for mobile uses, our network is optimized for ultra high speed internet. We have a sophisticated mesh architecture of fiber optic and wireless links that connect hundreds of buildings throughout Boston. We use this “air fiber” wireless technology to bring service to a building, instead of pulling cables through the streets. But once we are on a building, we use the existing wiring in that building to bring service to residents or businesses there. Unlike “hotspot” providers, netBlazr doesn’t provide a WiFi access point for users to connect to. Our customers receive an ethernet cable from netBlazr which they then plug into their network or wireless router. As a startup, or course we don’t have the level of brand awareness as the two monopoly providers. Our awareness is comes from word-of-mouth and from the sheer frustration that people have over the lack of choice between internet providers in America. Without getting on too much of a soapbox, it is that public policy failure in the US that drove netBlazr’s founders to build a company that does a “wireless end run” on the incumbent providers to bring more choice and better performance to the market. The technology that netBlazr uses is continually improving its performance much like computers get faster and more powerful with each generation. Our customers are really big fans of what netBlazr is doing – free your broadband! That really makes my job a lot of fun. Sure, call me a broadband hero.”
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