Wireless Broadband Internet Service Launched in Delaware

Delaware Launches New
Wireless Broadband
Internet Service

By Chris Pollock, The Delaware Gazette

Two Coshocton entrepreneurs and a Delaware-area businessman have joined forces to help create a company believed to be the first of its kind based in Delaware.

NexGenAccess is a wireless broadband Internet service company that began operation Oct. 1. NexGenAccess President Matt Smith, 22, and Vice-President Joel White, 27, got the idea for the company in early 2003 while working for AirClover, a similar business in Coshocton.

"We essentially saw the pitfalls of wireless, and we thought, 'we could do this right,' "" Smith said.

Broadband is a catch-all term for all types of digital Internet access faster than the traditional dial-up modem. Dial-up modems use phone lines to transmit or receive data between computers. Their top speed for transferring information is 57,344 bytes, or 56 kilobytes, a second.

According to the Federal Communications Commission (www.fcc.gov), broadband is usually at least twice as fast as dial-up, and often several times faster. The most common forms of broadband use cable television or phone lines, but compress information on the line more efficiently than a dial-up modem. Wireless systems use radio transmissions to convey data instead of phone or cable lines.

Smith and White said they settled on Delaware as a location because of the relatively flat terrain of central Ohio, which makes it ideal for broadcasting. Their antenna is mounted on top of an old grain silo on the 100 block of Lake Street, amid a cluster of other antennas for cell phones. The property is owned by Bill Cashman of Delaware's Cashman Communications, which is a junior partner in the venture.

"They've got knot only knowledge but experience in wireless broadband," Cashman said of White and Smith. "Cashman Communications is looking at it as a complement to the wireless services we provide. I think the wireless data capability is where the whole telecom industry's moving."

When a customer signs up for NexGenAccess service, Smith or White visit their location and install a broadcasting / receiving panel about a foot square. They can provide service to areas within about three miles of their main antenna with speeds between 128 Kbps and 1.2 Megabytes per second. The monthly fee is dependent on the speed desired.

"A lot of the demand is from outside city limits where people don't have broadband access," Smith said. "It's been by a phone line, your basic dial-up. And they've been unable to reach even 28 Kbps because of the quality of their phone lines.

NexGenAccess has six customers so far, and Smith said he gets more inquiries weekly. White said the company has not done a lot of advertising yet.

NexGenAccess is online at www.nexgenaccess.com.