WildBlue eyes 2004 launch for low-cost satellite service

Telecommuters and branch offices across rural America will have
a new alternative for high-speed Internet access in the second
half of 2004, when WildBlue Communications of Denver plans to
launch its satellite-based services.

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan Network World, Inc.

(Thanks to Geoff Badenoch for passing this along. -Russ)

Using Ka-band satellites and existing cable modem standards,
WildBlue says it can offer significantly reduced equipment,
installation and monthly rates when compared to existing
satellite or fixed wireless offerings.

WildBlue’s strategy has proven attractive to the venture capital
community. In April, WildBlue received a $156 million cash
infusion from a group of investors including blue chip venture
capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as well as Liberty
Satellite & Technology, Intelsat and the National Rural
Telecommunications Cooperative. This latest round of investment
brings WildBlue’s funding to a total of $388 million.

"This is the last of their plan…WildBlue is ready to go public
or get acquired," says Kirk Walden, national director of venture
capital research for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Walden says the
fact that WildBlue operated for three years on funding raised in
2000 shows that they are "pretty strong."

The WildBlue deal is the largest venture capital investment in
the ISP industry during the first half of 2003. Overall, venture
firms have pumped more than $488 million in 50-plus
telecommunications start-ups this year, according to the
MoneyTree Survey compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Venture
Economics and the National Venture Capital Association.

In the last few ISP News Reports, we have been looking at
Internet infrastructure and service provider start-ups that have
succeeded in raising large amounts of money from the venture
capital community this year. With cash in hand, these companies
are deploying new IP-based services for corporate network
managers.

In WildBlue’s case, the new Internet access services won’t be
available for another year. WildBlue plans to offer all the key
ISP features including e-mail, Web surfing, instant message and
Web hosting. But customers can also choose to continue their
current ISP with WildBlue’s Internet access service.

WildBlue’s main advantage will be in pricing, company spokesman
Brad Greenwald says.

"We believe we have the lowest-cost infrastructure per customer
of anybody out there that services customers wirelessly,"
Greenwald says. "Our business strategy is to go after those 30
million homes where cable modem and DSL services are not
available."