Towerstream
Encyclopedia
Towerstream Corporation NASDAQ: (TWER) is a wireless
Internet Service Provider
(ISP) marketing high-speed Internet access to businesses including fixed wireless
and WiMAX
. Towerstream is a member of the WiMAX Forum, which promotes WiMAX products.
Service areas include Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, Nashville, Las Vegas/Reno, and Providence/Newport where the company is headquartered. Founded in 1999 by Philip Urso (MCF Communications, eFortress) and Jeffrey Thompson (eFortress), Towerstream held its first public offering in January 2007 and trades on the NASDAQ Capital Markets under symbol TWER.
network in Manhattan
using 802.11n technology with plans to sell wholesale access to carriers for Mobile data offloading
in areas of mobile congestion. Towerstream reported that it supported 250,000 connections per day, and moved an average of one terabyte of data per day across the network.
In January 2011, Towerstream announced it planned to expand its pilot Wi-Fi network in Manhattan and add San Francisco and Chicago.
As of August 2011, Towerstream’s Wi-Fi network in Manhattan consisted of over 1000 access points offering 200 Mbit/s each.
In August 2011, Towerstream announced its Manhattan Distribution Network which uses its Wi-Fi network as a distribution platform for daily deal sites and mobile app providers.
On December 16, 2010, Towerstream completed its acquisition of certain business assets from Pipeline Wireless. The acquired business assets include substantially all of Pipeline Wireless' customer contracts, network infrastructure, and related assets in the Boston and Providence markets.
Towerstream closed its third acquisition on May 19, 2011 when it announced it had acquired certain business assets from One Velocity Inc. The acquired business assets include substantially all of the One Velocity's customer contracts, network infrastructure, and related assets in the Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada markets. The company announced at the time of the acquisition the new Las Vegas market immediately became the company's fifth largest revenue base.
In November 2009, Towerstream expanded service in Philadelphia and in April 2010 purchased Sparkplug's business assets in Chicago and Nashville, increasing Chicago's customer base to be Towerstream's third largest coverage area. In December 2010, the company expanded its presence in the Boston and Providence markets when it acquired business assets of Sparkplug Communications. In 2011, Towerstream entered the Las Vegas/Reno market with its acquisition of all of the One Velocity's customer contracts, network infrastructure, and related assets in those cities.
On July 13, 2011 Towerstream representatives visited the NASDAQ MarketSite
in New York City's Times Square, where Chief Executive Officer Jeff Thompson rang the closing bell.
networks use Ethernet
technology, not TDI
that the legacy infrastructure relies on and have been in production since the 1970s, primarily used for backhaul in voice networks for phone companies. The network uses Radio Frequency (RF) base stations to provide Internet access
. Towerstream base stations connect to multiple Tier 1 network
IP backbone service providers, to ensure continuous service should any of the fiber providers go down.
Towerstream's markets operating with WiMAX
technology use the 3.65 GHz spectrum band and are true Non-Line-of-Site (NLOS). Its markets using Fixed WiMAX service run over the 5.8 GHz spectrum band and are Line-of-Site (LOS).
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
(ISP) marketing high-speed Internet access to businesses including fixed wireless
Fixed wireless
Fixed wireless is the operation of wireless devices or systems used to connect two fixed locations with a radio or other wireless link, such as laser bridge. Usually, fixed wireless is part of a wireless LAN infrastructure. The purpose of a fixed wireless link is to enable data communications...
and WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
. Towerstream is a member of the WiMAX Forum, which promotes WiMAX products.
Service areas include Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, Nashville, Las Vegas/Reno, and Providence/Newport where the company is headquartered. Founded in 1999 by Philip Urso (MCF Communications, eFortress) and Jeffrey Thompson (eFortress), Towerstream held its first public offering in January 2007 and trades on the NASDAQ Capital Markets under symbol TWER.
Business Broadband Service
Towerstream offers service plans from 1.5 Mbit/s to 1 Gbit/s. Bandwidth is available in various increments, is symmetric (bi-directional/duplex) and has a standard installation time of 3–5 days. The service supports voice-over-internet-protocol VoIP, bandwidth-on-demand, virtual private networks VPN, wireless redundancy, and bundled data and video services.Wi-Fi network
In the middle of 2010, Towerstream started deploying a test Wi-FiWi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
network in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
using 802.11n technology with plans to sell wholesale access to carriers for Mobile data offloading
Mobile data offloading
Mobile data offloading, also called data offloading is the use of complementary network technologies for delivering data originally targeted for cellular networks. Rules triggering the mobile offloading action can either be set by an end-user or an operator...
in areas of mobile congestion. Towerstream reported that it supported 250,000 connections per day, and moved an average of one terabyte of data per day across the network.
In January 2011, Towerstream announced it planned to expand its pilot Wi-Fi network in Manhattan and add San Francisco and Chicago.
As of August 2011, Towerstream’s Wi-Fi network in Manhattan consisted of over 1000 access points offering 200 Mbit/s each.
In August 2011, Towerstream announced its Manhattan Distribution Network which uses its Wi-Fi network as a distribution platform for daily deal sites and mobile app providers.
Acquisitions
On April 16, 2010 Towerstream announced that it had closed the acquisition of Sparkplug Communications' Chicago, Illinois and Nashville, Tennessee business assets. The acquisition allowed the company to expand its presence in Chicago, while introducing Nashville as its 11th market nationally.On December 16, 2010, Towerstream completed its acquisition of certain business assets from Pipeline Wireless. The acquired business assets include substantially all of Pipeline Wireless' customer contracts, network infrastructure, and related assets in the Boston and Providence markets.
Towerstream closed its third acquisition on May 19, 2011 when it announced it had acquired certain business assets from One Velocity Inc. The acquired business assets include substantially all of the One Velocity's customer contracts, network infrastructure, and related assets in the Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada markets. The company announced at the time of the acquisition the new Las Vegas market immediately became the company's fifth largest revenue base.
History
The company was founded in 1999 by Philip Urso and Jeffrey Thompson as a replacement to the legacy copper line T1, DS3, and OC-3 infrastructure. Initially serving two markets, Providence Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, Towerstream's service area was expanded in 2003 to include New York City, and then expanded a year later to include Chicago and Los Angeles. Towerstream expanded into San Francisco in 2005. FierceVoIP's annual Fierce 15 list named Towerstream as one of the top 15 emerging companies implementing a T1 VoIP solution for 2005. In January 2007 Towerstream completed a reverse merger, raised $15 million in capital and commenced trading common stock on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol TWER. By May 2007, Towerstream stock was moved to NASDAQ Capital Markets and the company raised an additional $40 million in capital. Service coverage area was extended to include Seattle, Miami, and Dallas. In late 2008, Towerstream was honored by xchange magazine with the Best of WiMAX World Award for its New York City network T1 and DS3 offerings and also honored by Telephony Online with two Telephony Innovation Awards "Most Innovative Broadband Wireless Service" and "Most Innovative Small Business Service".In November 2009, Towerstream expanded service in Philadelphia and in April 2010 purchased Sparkplug's business assets in Chicago and Nashville, increasing Chicago's customer base to be Towerstream's third largest coverage area. In December 2010, the company expanded its presence in the Boston and Providence markets when it acquired business assets of Sparkplug Communications. In 2011, Towerstream entered the Las Vegas/Reno market with its acquisition of all of the One Velocity's customer contracts, network infrastructure, and related assets in those cities.
On July 13, 2011 Towerstream representatives visited the NASDAQ MarketSite
NASDAQ MarketSite
NASDAQ MarketSite is the physical presence of the NASDAQ stock market. Located in Times Square in New York City, it occupies the North West corner of the bottom of the Condé Nast Building, located at 4 Times Square...
in New York City's Times Square, where Chief Executive Officer Jeff Thompson rang the closing bell.
Technology
Towerstream markets a combination of Fixed Wireless and WiMAX (802.16e) technology as "4G". Fixed wirelessFixed wireless
Fixed wireless is the operation of wireless devices or systems used to connect two fixed locations with a radio or other wireless link, such as laser bridge. Usually, fixed wireless is part of a wireless LAN infrastructure. The purpose of a fixed wireless link is to enable data communications...
networks use Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
technology, not TDI
TDI
-Chemistry:*Tolerable Daily Intake ,*Toluene diisocyanate, an organic chemical-Entertainment:*Total Drama Island, an animated reality series that started July 8, 2007...
that the legacy infrastructure relies on and have been in production since the 1970s, primarily used for backhaul in voice networks for phone companies. The network uses Radio Frequency (RF) base stations to provide Internet access
Internet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
. Towerstream base stations connect to multiple Tier 1 network
Tier 1 network
A tier 1 network is an Internet Protocol network that participates in the Internet solely via settlement-free interconnection, also known as settlement-free peering.-Definition:...
IP backbone service providers, to ensure continuous service should any of the fiber providers go down.
Towerstream's markets operating with WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
technology use the 3.65 GHz spectrum band and are true Non-Line-of-Site (NLOS). Its markets using Fixed WiMAX service run over the 5.8 GHz spectrum band and are Line-of-Site (LOS).
See also
- WiMAXWiMAXWiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
- Wireless Broadband
- Fixed wirelessFixed wirelessFixed wireless is the operation of wireless devices or systems used to connect two fixed locations with a radio or other wireless link, such as laser bridge. Usually, fixed wireless is part of a wireless LAN infrastructure. The purpose of a fixed wireless link is to enable data communications...
- Internet Service ProviderInternet service providerAn Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...