The Cost of Fixed-Wireless

Jun 29, 2021

The question most people have about Etheric Networks service is, “Why does it cost more than Comcast or any other big provider?” The short answer is, because we provide a custom level of service that differs from Comcast in many ways. We’re like a microbrew or artisan bakery. A sports car, not a minivan. Customers pay more for these kinds of products and services for three main reasons. Location, quality, and loyalty.

Location 

The major issue big ISPs have with delivering fiber is location. Fiber goes in the ground and it’s expensive to put there. If you live in an urban area with streets designed for connectivity, the cost is affordable. If you live in a hard to reach or remote area, the cost goes up and it becomes a question of accounting. In rural areas with low population density, it doesn’t make sense to tear up the ground for fiber. Big ISPs have invested billions in cable and fiber over decades, to venture into specialized services like fixed-wireless would not be profitable. 

We’ve built a hybrid network to make this possible. It’s a private custom engineered network with connections between fixed-wireless towers, dark fiber, and datacenters. A finely tuned system operating faster and more efficiently than one any large ISP could build or maintain for a reasonable cost. 

More than megabits

Big ISPs provide lots of megabits for low cost, but the quality varies. That’s the trade off for big bandwidth. Speed and reliability are affected by other factors like number of hops, latency, and jitter. A private 10 megabit well engineered symmetrical fixed-wireless connection will deliver a better experience than a 100 megabit download / variable upload connection from a big ISP. Comcast can’t offer private high-speed connections like that because they don’t have the infrastructure. For gamers, livestreamers, and businesses that rely on quality high-speed coms, a low latency, low jitter connection is critical. 

 

Quality

In the past, hard to reach and rural areas were left with few choices. DSL and satellite were the only options and they can’t provide adequate bandwidth for the cost. Fixed-wireless technology is an affordable way to deliver internet to these areas. However, Etheric can’t rely on one technology to provide reliable connectivity. Our network is a custom built hybrid that navigates between challenging areas and the urban datacenters that connect to the rest of the world. 

Our network is a custom built hybrid that navigates between challenging areas and the urban datacenters that connect to the rest of the world. 

Screenshot of NASDAQ fixed-wireless services page. Note the lower latency offered.

NASDAQ webpage

Stock brokers use private fixed-wireless connections because they are faster than fiber and milliseconds equal millions in their world. NASDAQ had to add a minimum latency rule to level the playing field because of the custom engineering possible. Firms would have an unfair advantage from a faster connection if not regulated. Distance, tech, and engineering all count. 

Loyalty

Etheric is a locally owned and operated business. We were founded to offer choice where there wasn’t any. Many of our towers are co-owned with customers. We work with communities to build infrastructure together. As a small business we have the flexibility to do that. This builds brand loyalty that helps us grow and do more for our customers. 

Pioneers 

It’s always more expensive for pioneers. Anyone connected to a fixed-wireless service is a pioneer in that sense. It’s bleeding edge technology. That’s cool.., but costly. Every new connection makes the tech more common which helps drive the cost down. 

A spectrum of possibility

Recent days have shed light on how important hybrid network solutions are. Rural and hard to reach areas cannot rely on outdated infrastructure in emergency situations. Federal funding has been allocated at an unprecedented rate to help bridge the digital divide. Etheric has a mission to connect rural California and we’re determined to get it done faster than asked. It’s a mammoth task for a small business. As we scale up for the challenge, each community we reach will be faced with choices to make. We’re going to build this together. 

Etheric Welcomes Cliff Beek

May 14, 2021

Cliff Beek

Etheric Networks warmly welcomes global communications executive Cliff Beek to its board of directors.

Cliff is an accomplished executive with expertise in managing equity-backed companies, with 25-plus years of progressive experience providing leadership and strategic direction to high growth technology organizations, their boards of directors and senior management. Cliff’s expertise will guide Etheric through a significant expansion of its network operations into Northern California over the next six years.

In late 2020 Etheric was a big winner in the 2020 RDOF auction, and will receive nearly $250M over the next 10 years to provide broadband to underserved communities in Northern California. This expansion, compromising 251 Census Block Groups across 25 counties, will position the company as a key broadband provider in the state. Etheric’s hybrid network, comprised of dark fiber, fixed wireless and licensed spectrum, will also serve numerous adjacent communities in addition to the unserved areas designated in the RDOF award.

Alexander Hagen, Etheric’s founder and CEO said: “Cliff’s extensive expertise in global telecom, broadband and satellite markets will be invaluable to Etheric as we scale to be one of the largest broadband providers in California and beyond. His understanding of both the players and game adds considerable bench strength to our board, and we are delighted to welcome him.”

In addition to his role advising Etheric, Cliff serves as CEO and President of Cloud Constellation Corporation, a Los Angeles CA based company that is developing the first global satellite data security platform for governments and financial institutions.

Cliff earned an MBA from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a BA from The George Washington University.

Etheric Networks Secures CBRS Spectrum for Fixed Wireless in Multiple California Counties

Nov 6, 2020

Expanded service in California will serve rural and underserved communities in eleven counties, including Monterey, San Benito and the north-eastern Sierras

SAN MATEO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 29, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ — Etheric Networks, the leading provider of wireless internet service in the Bay Area, today announced it has secured spectrum through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction for licenses in the shared Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band. These licenses are in the counties of Alpine, Colusa, Inyo, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Plumas, San Benito, Siskiyou & Trinity.

Alexander Hagen, CEO, Etheric Networks, said: “The significance of the 2020 CBRS auction cannot be understated. It is one of the first spectrum auctions to allow bids at a county level, instead of an entire metropolitan area. This change opens the door for smaller operators to add licensed spectrum that is tailored to their coverage areas.”

The CBRS spectrum is used in fixed wireless applications. Fixed wireless delivers high-speed, reliable and secure broadband with speeds up to 250 Mbps. Initiatives that will roll out from Etheric’s successful bids include:
– Expanding Etheric’s southern network border along its existing dark fiber backbone.
This will allow Etheric to provide San Benito and Monterey counties with 9/11- grade voice service over high-speed fixed wireless. The company expects to see several hundred megabits capacity per user, with a download and upload goal of 100 megabits.
– Partnering with local ISPs in remote mountainous rural regions.
Etheric has also obtained spectrum licenses in the remote counties of Alpine, Inyo, Mono, Plumas, Lassen, Modoc, Siskiyou, Trinity, and Colusa. It would like to partner with existing or help establish new local ISPs in those regions, with the goal of keeping at least 80% of the income in the community.
– More efficient use of network bandwidth.
Networks built on unlicensed spectrum must diligently coordinate and manage frequencies in order to insulate customers from varying spectrum quality. This often means budgeting extra bandwidth to maintain guaranteed service levels. With CBRS licensed spectrum all devices are registered and calibrated so they don’t interfere with each other.

Access to the CBRS band will change the fixed wireless industry in several ways. Small internet service providers can now offer roaming services to cellular operators, and potentially trade permissions for priority license use with each other. It’s also likely that co-ops will form amongst CBRS license holders to address the back end for cellular roaming data.

Additional benefits of using CBRS spectrum:
– The 3.5 GHz band will be open to anyone
The FCC will make CBRS commercially available to pretty much everyone, not just large mobile operators. This means non-traditional mobile operators will likely bring new products to market for home and business broadband.
– Better indoor and outdoor cellular signal
A private LTE network on the CBRS band could effectively be used in place of or in conjunction with Wi-Fi. It can also address existing cellular coverage gaps in large or spread out facilities such as commercial office parks, skyscrapers, manufacturing plants, hotels and hospitals.
– Greater network security
Wi-Fi is widely considered a non-secure, or easily hackable, platform. CBRS systems will have restricted access based on SIM cards and have configurable network topologies, so IT can use best practices in cybersecurity design.