TowerStream Corporation
TowerStream Corporation is a specialized telecommunications company based in the United States, positioning itself as a Fixed Wireless Fiber Alternative provider. The company's core mission is to deliver high-speed, dedicated Internet access and broadband services, primarily to commercial customers and, in select areas, to residential clients. TowerStream operates its own independent fixed wireless network, allowing it to bypass the traditional local loop infrastructure of incumbent telephone and cable companies. This operational model is central to its value proposition, which emphasizes faster installation, dedicated service, lower latency, and symmetric bandwidth at competitive prices.
Continue…Corporate Identity and Market Presence
Headquartered in Middletown, Rhode Island, TowerStream was founded in 1999 and trades on the Expert Market under the ticker TWER. The company maintains a significant footprint in major metropolitan areas across the U.S., which it refers to as its "Continuing Operations." These urban markets include, but are not limited to, New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay area, Miami, Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Las Vegas-Reno, and the greater Providence area. By owning and operating its entire network, TowerStream maintains control over service delivery and quality, offering an industry-leading Service Level Agreement (SLA) to ensure high availability, low latency, and minimal packet loss.
Products and Services
TowerStream???s offerings revolve around dedicated, high-speed Internet connectivity delivered via a fixed wireless platform. The company targets businesses that require reliable, scalable, and high-performance Internet solutions.
Business Broadband and Dedicated Internet Access
The primary product is dedicated, symmetrical (bi-directional/duplex) high-speed Internet access. The service is characterized by its dedicated bandwidth, meaning the purchased speed is guaranteed and not shared with other customers, a crucial feature for business operations.
- Bandwidth Options: Service plans historically ranged from 1.5 Megabits per second (Mbps) up to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) and currently offer speeds up to 10 Gbps for custom packages. Bandwidth is available in various increments, allowing customers to scale their service as their needs grow, often without the need for additional equipment or installation charges.
- On-Net Fixed-Wireless Service: A major strategic focus is the "On-Net" platform, launched in 2014, which targets building owners and property managers. By installing a single wireless receiver/transmitter on a building, TowerStream can "light" the entire facility. Building tenants can then access dedicated, symmetrical Internet connectivity with a premier SLA through existing in-building wiring, significantly reducing the cost and time traditionally associated with individual wireless customer installations.
Specialized Connectivity and Business Solutions
In addition to core Internet access, TowerStream bundles several services and specialized solutions that leverage its fixed wireless network:
- Voice (VoIP) Solutions: The company offers Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) services, including advanced digital phone lines that can connect to a customer's existing Private Branch Exchange (PBX) or provide a virtual PBX.
- Business Continuity and Redundancy: Products include Backup & Failover solutions and Wireless Redundancy to ensure business continuity, leveraging the independent wireless network as a diverse path for connectivity. This is often an alternative or complement to traditional wired connections.
- Temporary Internet Deployment: This service addresses the needs of events, construction sites, or short-term projects that require high-speed Internet for a limited duration, such as a day, a week, or longer.
- POTS Replacement (Plain Old Telephone Service Replacement): A service designed to replace old analog phone lines with modern, high-speed alternatives.
- Network Features: The fixed wireless service inherently supports essential business-grade features such as Virtual Private Networks (VPN), Bandwidth-on-Demand, and Disaster Recovery services.
- Wholesale Internet Service: TowerStream also offers its network access on a wholesale basis to other carriers and partners.
Technology
TowerStream employs a combination of Fixed Wireless and Fixed WiMAX (802.16e) technology, which it has historically marketed as "4G." The network architecture utilizes Radio Frequency (RF) base stations installed on tall buildings or towers, which transmit over both regulated and unregulated radio spectrum, creating a line-of-sight (LOS) fixed wireless link to customer premises equipment. The base stations connect to multiple Tier 1 network IP backbone service providers, which is a key technical aspect that ensures service continuity and redundancy.
Discontinued Operations
It is important to note that the company has undergone strategic shifts in the past. In the mid-2010s, TowerStream began deploying a large-scale public Wi-Fi network in Manhattan and other cities with the intention of selling wholesale access to mobile carriers for mobile data offloading. Furthermore, the company formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, HetNets Tower Corporation, which provided shared wireless infrastructure services. However, both the large-scale Wi-Fi network initiative and the HetNets subsidiary were later terminated or closed, with the company refocusing its efforts entirely on its core fixed wireless broadband service for businesses.
