Wireless Venture Makes Big Splash

In its first four days of operation, Cometa had received 10,000 e-mail inquiries, half of which were from people seeking employment, said Cometa CEO Lawrence Brilliant. The other half were inquiries about partnerships with the company, which plans to launch a nationwide Wi-Fi network and sell only through the channel, Brilliant said.

One such inquirer was Emmet Tydings, CEO of Gaithersburg, Md.-based master agent AB&T Telecom, who said his company is seeing significant demand for services like Cometa's network at the municipal and state government level, where wireless is currently a "big mishmash."

"We have already begun to seek contacts at Cometa, so AB&T definitely wants to be involved," said Tydings. "We have a national network of VARs and agents that could provide a great springboard for such a service. A national network is a massive opportunity to replace billions [of dollars worth of disparate, incompatible communications systems."

Service providers of all kinds,from carriers and large ISPs to master agents and smaller solution providers offering connectivity and wireless services,are reaching out to the Wi-Fi provider. So far, Cometa has been contacted by the majority of the large carriers and ISPs in the United States, Brilliant said.

"Some of the smaller [service providers may not be our first call, but we will reach them eventually," Brilliant said.

Solution providers said the appeal of Cometa's network is that it's a unified, nationwide Wi-Fi network,something that is lacking in the communications community and is delaying the widespread adoption of Wi-Fi. Without a nationwide network, customers lose service when they roam out of an area supported by their local Wi-Fi provider.

"We have been waiting for a national wireless network to emerge," said David Morken, president of communications service provider Bandwidth.com, Durham, N.C. "Customer demand is there for a cost-effective last-mile alternative to traditional wireline connectivity."

Although Brilliant said Cometa will not have a brand or be seen by the end customer, the company aims to be known as the lowest-cost provider. "The current pricing from providers like Boingo and T-Mobile are not sustainable. It's too high and it's going to come down," he said.

Mike Maas, vice president of marketing for IBM's communications sector business, said customers will be charged in several ways, such as on a subscription basis, based on usage or even by the minute.

But Anthony Meadow, president of mobile solution provider Bear River Associates, Oakland, Calif., said business customers and enterprises are looking for fixed pricing. "Enterprises don't want to have to guess what the price is going to be for each of its executives," said Meadow. "They don't want to have to guess that the cost for each person will be between $50 and $200; [they want a fixed cost."

Security is another customer concern, said solution providers. But Brilliant said Cometa's network is "bulletproof" because it is a closed network and will be backed by security measures such as 802.11i and new methods of encryption.

"We do get concerned about roaming, and we certainly will not roam into sites that are not secure," he said.

But security concerns are secondary to pricing and installation time frames as far as SMB customers are concerned, said Morken.

For wireless solution providers developing highly graphical applications, a nationwide Wi-Fi network is a necessity, said Xavier Facon, vice president of engineering at Crisp Wireless, New York.

Crisp Wireless develops entertainment and information applications for cell phones. "It's compelling for a lot of our customers," said Facon. "Imagine Sony and Disney. These are companies that want this functionality. As a developer, we don't care about how customers get connected, we just care about how fast they get content. I think unified hotspots around the country is an answer."

Brilliant said there will be no restrictions on who will be able to partner with Cometa. "We are a level playing field. Anyone can buy our service wholesale," he said.

Cometa is developing a formal partner program, but details have not yet been formulated. Partners will be paid traditional telecom margins and sell and package Cometa's services as they see fit, Brilliant said.