Fatbeam Announces New Agreements with Cellular Providers - Fatbeam

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho— May 3, 2017 —Two carriers have leased dark fiber from Fatbeam, LLC in the states of Washington and Idaho. The low-latency fiber carrier connections put major cellular providers one step closer to the much-anticipated architecture to deliver 5G for their next-generation networks. Not unique to the industry, Fatbeam does not disclose the actual carrier name to respect confidentiality in fiber routes and other competitive- and security-related concerns.

“It’s gratifying to have national and global companies entrust us with their infrastructure,” said Fatbeam CEO Greg Green. “We very deliberately build fiber-rich networks to further leverage our assets and help drive economic growth, including that of cellular growth. Furthermore, long-term leases and/or IRUs (Indefeasible Right of Use) are great contributors to our financial bottom line.”

5G is the name being given to the next generation of wireless networks (this is the fifth generation, hence 5G). It promises significantly faster data speeds and ultra-low latency. Currently, 4G networks can achieve peak download speeds of one gigabit per second (Gbps). With 5G, this will increase to 10Gbps. Latency refers to the time it takes one device to send a packet of data to another device. Currently with 4G, the latency rate is approximately 50 milliseconds, but 5G will reduce that to approximately one millisecond. This will be particularly significant for industrial applications and driverless cars.

“We’re heading into a more connected world,” said Green. “The Internet of Things—things like wearables and smart-home appliances and connected cars—is expected to grow exponentially over the next 10 years, and it will need a network that can accommodate billions of connected devices. Part of the goal behind 5G is to provide that capacity and to be able to assign bandwidth depending on the needs of the application and user.”

History of Telecom in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene

Up until 1996, when the FCC deregulated telecommunications, the only phone provider of voice- and data-related services was the 100-year-old monopoly of AT&T, which later broken up into Pacific Northwest Bell and GTE, serving as the local phone companies. With deregulation on its way, Green, a Coeur d’Alene native, built the first competitive telecom provider in the area, Tel-West. That company made the first competitive phone call from Spokane to Coeur d’Alene in more than 100 years by investing millions in fiber optics and switching. It was later purchased by Cellular One billionaire Craig McCaw out of Seattle, and the newly formed NEXTLINK began servicing our communities.

In 1996, with Green at the helm, McCaw and Green, along with other senior management at NEXTLINK, raised half a billion dollars and took NEXTLINK public in an IPO to fund its growth across the nation. Today, that company, started by local community visionary Gregory Green, is owned by Verizon after it was purchased in 2017 for $1.8 billion. Because of this vision, several other fiber optics- and telecom-centric competitors provide the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene region with numerous telecommunications options, which in turn keeps pricing competitive and further delivers the innovation that is driven by competition.

After starting and selling several other telecom companies, Green returned to Coeur d’Alene at the age of 49 to build “what he says is his last company” to create high-paying jobs and generate economic development in the community he so loves.

About Fatbeam

Fatbeam is a competitive access provider delivering data transport services to business and enterprise, healthcare, education, and government customers in the Western U.S. While competitive telecom and broadband fiber capacity are mainstream throughout larger cities in the United States, Fatbeam focuses on underserved markets. In 2015, Fatbeam was ranked #190 by Inc. magazine’s “500 Fastest Growing Companies in the United States.” www.fatbeam.com

# # # # #