Fixed wireless ISP Starry Internet is expanding beyond their initial market of Boston, Mass. Next up, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, the start-up wireless carrier announced in a blog post. Eventually, Starry Internet expansion could include 14 additional markets.
Starry Internet announced their intentions to disrupt the broadband ISP business just about a year ago. Founded by Chet Kanojia, who tried to disrupt the broadcast television business with Aero, Starry introduced a fixed wireless service in Boston that offers 200 Mbps broadband for $50/month with no contracts and includes a Wi-Fi router.
Starry utilizes ‘pre-5G’ millimeter wave wireless technology and targets the MDU community, aiming to partner with building owners for Internet access. They currently pass 240K locations in Boston. Starry does not reveal actual subscriber counts.
“Now more than ever, it’s important for people to have a better choice for internet service — yet most American households have just one option,” the company says in a blog post. “Today, we’re excited to announce the next two markets to get Starry Internet: Los Angeles, CA and Washington, DC.”
Other markets are to follow in 2018, potentially including New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Miami, and Minneapolis.
The company has raised close to $100 million and employs about 150 people, a number they expect to double, according to a Boston Herald report .
Starry Internet represents a new breed of fixed wireless access providers who have surfaced recently. Webpass, which was acquired by Google, follows a similar model. Additionally, traditional carriers including Verizon and AT&T, as well as a host of smaller providers are embracing fixed wireless, joining an already well established WISP community
