NetStumbler.com

The LiftPort Group is conducting a two-month test to find out if a balloon-based platform can act as a reliable relay of Internet signals in remote regions. The company’s president, Michael Laine, said the Federal Aviation Administration issued a waiver for the trial, which began last week in a rural area near Poulsbo on western Washington’s Kitsap Peninsula. According to Laine, wireless Internet access provider Lightspeed Broadband already expressed interest in the technology. Lightspeed currently has less than 200 subscribers in western Washington and hopes the technology will boost the company’s expansion plans. It intends to offer broadband service for $20 a month should the test becomes a success and the technology is approved by the FAA.

The Wireless Silicon Valley Task Force has chosen MetroFi Inc., VeriLAN Event Services Inc. and Silicon Valley Metro Connect Team to go through the next round of negotiations concerning a plan to provide wireless Internet coverage in the area. Seth Fearey, chief operating officer of the Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network, which assisted in the creation of the 40-city task force, believes the three finalists are capable of undertaking the assignment though it is still unclear “what they are prepared to cover.” Fearey said that issue will be taken up in the next round of discussions. The following round will trim the line-up to two companies — a finalist and a runner-up — with the task force coming out with it’s final approval by the end of August. The recommendation will be reviewed by the full board, and later by the San Mateo Telecommunications Authority, which will prepare the contract. The winning company would then need the approval of all 40 participating cities so it can begin the $75 million project.
Via [sanjose.bizjournals.com]