The Internet is universally important to all Americans, and that’s especially true to rural Americans who are denied access to broadband Internet. The ISPs say it will cost too much to extend service to backroad homes and hard to reach areas in mountainous regions, but one company thinks all of that is a bunch of bollocks.
GlobalWirelessPOD is a startup company that uses “proprietary wireless infrastructure to provide wireless broadband and collateral business services to small rural communities.” Their hope is to provide broadband Internet to the roughly 19 million Americans living in rural areas that can’t obtain access any other way. It’s a noble endeavor, but it will cost a bit of money to get going.
The company has launched an Indiegogo campaign that asks for $850,000 to fund the next step of their plan. Here’s how the company is planning to bring Wi-Fi to rural Americans across the country:
Over the past two years, the company has invested heavily in R&D to optimize software protocol thereby enhancing the ability of 802.11 platforms. The core strategic alliance is to merge with existing national and international rural stations and utilize its terrestrial infrastructure to deliver the bundled services and content. The infrastructure has been successfully tested and is used in limited areas benefiting rural schools and emergency services. The company started with two positive cash flow remote radio stations and internet radio in Iowa. GlobalWirelessPOD has identified multiple rural radio stations in the U.S. Midwest that are ready to align to the multipoint network.
The company is in need of $ 800,000 to start the build-out, merges & acquisition of target rural stations and ramp up customer premise equipment (CPE) inventory . This includes globally scalable joint-ventures in Brazil, Philippines, Vietnam-ASEAN arena awaiting entry memorandum of agreements. If goal amount is not reached, a second round will commence combined with current positive cash flow. Proprietary and specific long range strategy are disclosed with a completed non-disclosure agreement to interested Pioneer Partners.
For those who contribute, there’s a wide variety of rewards available in multiple tiers. The lowest tier starts at $11 and those who contribute this amount will receive a thank you note. Bumping your support up to $33 nets you a GlobalWirelessPOD ball cap. Upping your pledge will net you everything from a military grade unit jacket to a board meeting lunch with the folks at OpenWirelessPOD.
There hasn’t been much money raised yet, but the campaign has just started. OpenWirelessPOD has 116 days left to raise $850,000, but its flexible funding campaign ensures that it will at least receive whatever money is pledged to the cause between now and the campaign’s conclusion.
It’s going to take companies like GlobalWireless to get Internet into the hands of consumers as the FCC has done a rather terrible job so far in furthering its National Broadband Plan. The unwillingness of ISPs to actually foot the bill of extending service to those who need it most isn’t helping either.
Those in Appalachia and other rural regions are constantly targeted as regions that need help, but rarely does that help ever come. It’s nice to see somebody working on campaigns to improve the lives of people living in these communities.