Broadband Central Gets Blue

DRAPER, Utah -- Broadband Central, the largest provider of high-speed wireless Internet services in the state of Utah, today announced plans to expand its operations and services with the planned launch of more than 700 new "Blue Zones."

These Blue Zones will be based in seven western states -- Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington -- with a minimum of 100 Blue Zones deployed initially in each of these states.

As a result of its expansion plans, Broadband Central expects to begin offering high-speed Internet access to residents of these seven states at prices as low as $19.95 per month beginning as soon as July 2003.

When added to last week's announcement that it expects to complete deployment of 342 Blue Zones in Utah by August 2003, Broadband Central will soon have more than 1,000 miles of WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) coverage throughout the Western United States. This deployment will give Broadband Central one of the largest wireless footprints in the United States.

"Recent industry reports(a) state that as few as 5 percent of Internet users in the United States have access to broadband services at home," said Tali J. Haleua, president and chief executive officer of Broadband Central. "Our strategy is to use our leading-edge technology to close that gap and move quickly to become the largest broadband Internet service provider in the nation, capturing frustrated dial-up users who have no other options for affordable broadband services."

Each Blue Zone deployed by Broadband Central allows residents within a one-mile diameter to connect wirelessly to the Internet at broadband speeds. To offer this service, Broadband Central deploys one of its proprietary 22-inch diameter 802.11 cell sites in each Blue Zone, with each device utilizing three smart antennas and advanced radio transceivers developed and manufactured by the company. At each customer location, Broadband Central installs a corresponding 8-inch diameter antenna and a separate client device on-site to provide "always on" high-speed Internet access.

Broadband Central's entry-level monthly price point for high-speed Internet access is $19.95 for synchronous connectivity at 128 Kilobits per second (Kbps). At up to 10 times the speed of the actual throughput of dial-up connections, this is comparable to ISDN speeds (Integrated Services Digital Network), but dramatically lower in cost than ISDN. For $29.95 per month, subscribers can double their connection speed to 256Kbps, comparable to DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) speeds. At $39.95 per month, a subscriber can get cable modem speeds of 512Kbps, while a $59.95 per month subscription will allow residential connection speeds up to 1 Megabit per second or more. (Note: Typical high-speed broadband services start at $50 per month and higher.)

Beyond initial startup funding from its three founders, Broadband Central has been supported financially by a cooperative business model that allows individuals and organizations to enter into profit-sharing agreements with the company for each Blue Zone they choose to sponsor. By sharing in the net profits generated from recurring subscriber revenue normally reserved for monopolistic conglomerates, Blue Zone sponsors provide the company with an almost unlimited source of funding needed to meet its manufacturing and deployment demands.

"Since launching the company in November 2002, we have not sought one additional sponsor, and yet they keep coming out of the woodwork," said Darin Smith, director of channel sales for Broadband Central. "As it is, we now have Blue Zone sponsors for all of Utah and sponsorship agreements are lined up for a minimum of 100 Blue Zones in each of these seven new states."

"Few dial-up users are happy campers, and when they learn they can get high-speed Internet access at the same price they're already paying for dial-up speeds, it's a no-brainer decision to join Broadband Central," said Brooks Patton, director of marketing for Broadband Central. "Such a response is allowing us to reach our recurring revenue milestones in what we call the 'low-hanging fruit areas' before turning our focus to communities where tier one competitors now hold a monopoly for broadband services."

Broadband Central