Got this off of Raging Bull.......Valley's high-wireless act
Bluewire wireless Internet plans to market to residents and businesses that don't have access to Cox or Qwest
Stephanie Paterik
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 11, 2005 12:00 AM
People who live within 15 miles of the Bank of America building in Mesa have a new option for wireless Internet service.
A group of Chandler businessmen recently launched Bluewire, a wireless Internet company aiming to serve the East Valley and Pinal County. Bluewire will market to residents and businesses that don't have access to Cox or Qwest, although anyone within the coverage area can subscribe.
Bluewire is leasing space for its antennas atop the 226-foot-tall Bank of America Financial Plaza at Southern Avenue and Alma School Road. Its coverage area now includes a 15-mile radius around the building and will expand to 25 within two months. advertisement
"As many people who do have Cox at home, there are so many people who don't," owner Ralph Cruz said. "In south Chandler, there are so many homes who have nothing. It's dynamite for residents looking to upgrade."
The company recently secured another tower, in Queen Creek, and hopes to march south into Pinal County where cable wires don't always extend.
Bluewire is charging $49.99 a month for home users and $99 for offices for a connection of 512 kilobits per second. Higher speeds are available and cost more.
About 15 users have signed up in the past month, mostly friends and family testing the network in its infancy. Now, the owners say, it's ready for the general public.
Bluewire partners include Cruz, David Barazoto, Victor Valliere and Ira Hughes. All except Hughes own a Chandler company called Technology Providers Inc. that specializes in audiovisual integration. They outfit conference rooms and classrooms with state-of-the-art technology.
The partners came up with the idea for Bluewire a year ago as a solution for TPI customers, some of whom did not have high-speed or wireless Internet access. They decided to spin off a separate company, and hired Hughes for his experience in the Silicon Valley.
Cruz said tech-savvy entrepreneurs see wireless Internet as a gold rush.
"A lot of people are racing to stake some ground into that kind of technology," he said. "If you can achieve high speed Internet access without cable, and do it over the airwaves, wouldn't that create a lot more opportunity?"
There are various wireless technologies. Bluewire uses Motorola's point-to-multipoint canopy system, in which antennas on tall buildings or towers communicate with antennas at the customers' location, Hughes said.
The catch is Bluewire is reliant on line-of-site communication. That means Ahwatukee Foothills and other mountainous locations likely won't have access. Interested customers can get a free site assessment to find out if they are in the coverage area.
"As the southeast Valley grows in population, Cox and Qwest can't keep up sometimes," he said. "This provides an opportunity for a consumer like you and me to have wireless."
WazChandler, another Chandler-based wireless provider, recently was acquired by MobilePro Corp. in Bethesda, Md. MobilePro is creating a citywide wireless network in Tempe this summer and is lobbying other communities to do the same.
But Bluewire says it's not interested in citywide wireless pacts.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
AI
