Starry Internet is a fixed wireless broadband Internet service provider (ISP or WISP) operated by Starry, Inc., using millimeter-band LMDS connections, sometimes categorized as 5G fixed wireless,[1] to connect its base stations to customer buildings. Starry currently operates within Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | January 2016 |
| Founder | Chet Kanojia |
| Headquarters | , USA |
Area served | Various US cities |
Key people | Chet Kanojia (Founder and CEO) |
| Products | Wireless broadband internet |
| Website | Official website |
Background and availability
editStarry, Inc. was publicly announced in January 2016 by Chaitanya "Chet" Kanojia, who had previously founded Aereo.[2] As of December 2017[update], it was providing commercial service to a limited number of apartment buildings in the Boston area for $50/month per apartment, promising 200 Mbit/s upload and download speeds.[3] As of December 2016[update], Starry was based in Boston, had about 100 employees,[4] and had raised $63 million of funding.[5] Kanojia claims that Starry's capital cost will be only $25 per home, as compared to $2,500 for cable.[6] Starry announced on July 1, 2019, that through an FCC spectrum auction, they acquired 104 licenses for 24 GHz millimeter-wave spectrum to cover 51 markets in 25 states.[7]
Starry's system operates on the 37.1, 37.3 and 37.5 GHz bands, connecting its base stations ("Starry Beam") to receivers on individual buildings ("Starry Points"). Each base station covers a radius of 1.5 km. Signal propagation is near line-of-sight, not penetrating buildings and windows, and is degraded by foliage or rain, so Starry directs its signal using Multi-user MIMO phased array antennas, and can take advantage of reflections.[4] The base station redistributes its signal within a building using Starry's own Wi-Fi router ("Starry Station").[6]
Critical reception
editAnalysts are mixed about Starry's prospects. Some point to the failure of Clearwire (which operated WiMAX on the 2.5 GHz band),[8] or to technical challenges: "The physics are tough to overcome, and technology has been slow to improve here."[9] Others note that if the expected low fixed costs per user are achieved, "they could profitably offer competitive broadband speeds for a fraction of the current price of wired broadband".[1]
2022 First Mark Acquisition Corp Merger
editIn March 2022, Starry Internet completed a SPAC deal with First Mark Acquisition Corp in order to go public.
Financial issues
editOn 20 October 2022, Starry, Inc., filed a "WARN" notice with New York State's Department of Labor announcing the layoffs of "49 employees" because of "Changes in business operational needs as result of financial difficulties". [1]
On 23 December 2022, commercial real estate company Farley-White announced that it was suing Starry for $120,000 in unpaid rent. [2]
On February 20, 2023, Starry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[10]
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Craig Moffett of MoffettNathansan, as reported in Jeff Baumgartner, "Low Costs, Dense Markets Critical to Starry’s Success: Analyst", Multichannel News, 28 April 2017
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Alex (26 May 2016). "Meet the Entrepreneur Working to Reinvent How You Connect to the Internet". Time.
- ^ Silbey, Mari (31 July 2017). "Starry Fixed Wireless Debuts at $50/Month". LightReading.
- ^ a b Nordrum, Amy (2 December 2016). "Startup Says Beaming Millimeter Waves Over the Air Will Make It a Star in Ultra-Fast Wireless Broadband". IEEE Spectrum.
- ^ Heater, Brian (19 December 2016). "Starry Internet's broadband beaming technology raises another $30 million". TechCrunch.
- ^ a b Crook, Jordan (27 January 2016). "Starry Internet Is Aereo Founder Chet Kanojia's Latest Salvo In The War On ISPs". TechCrunch.
- ^ "We're growing! Starry Wins Licenses in over 50 Cities". 1 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ Kafka, Peter (27 January 2016). "Aereo's Founder Is Back With Starry. This Time He's Going After Broadband, Not TV". Recode.
- ^ Roger Entner, Recon Analytics, as quoted in Stephen Lawson, "With fixed wireless broadband, startup Starry will take on big challenges", Computerworld 29 January 2016
- ^ "Starry Group Holdings files for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy". MarketScreener. February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.