Fixed-wireless broadband provider Airband Communications has expanded its network operations to Orlando, targeting the more than 450 hotels that serve the city’s tourist and convention trade.
Airband offers a wireless broadband alternative to traditional wired broadband, selling both direct and through agents and other channel partners. The idea is to offer Internet access and VoIP to businesses, entertainment venues and other commercial locations such as multi-tenant office buildings that may not be well-served by fiber or whose other options are expensive T1 lines. In the hospitality market, Airband can deliver a dedicated circuit for a hotel’s guest Internet traffic and a separate circuit for special events, such as conventions.
Airband is already deploying data services to Orlando customers, including a resort with more than 2,000 guest rooms and an expansive meeting space that draws conventions and business travelers. Initial orders for Airband’s fixed-wireless data services cover about 5,000 hotel rooms throughout Orlando, as well as numerous standalone commercial businesses.
“Orlando hoteliers have grown tired of inadequate data service experienced with the local phone and cable infrastructure because it’s vital that guests be satisfied with their high-speed Internet access,” said Daman Wood, Airband’s executive vice president of sales. “We support hotels’ back-office traffic and guest Internet access with separate, highly scalable circuits so hotels can rapidly increase bandwidth for short periods of time based on needs of guests and conventions. This flexibility enhances the guest experience while creating additional revenue opportunities for the property itself.”
As opposed to wired “burstable” broadband offerings from phone or cable companies where usage billing above the bandwidth threshold can be unpredictable, Airband allows customers to pay only for a specific increase in bandwidth. Thus, hospitality customers are not restricted to buying services in T1 or DS3 increments, as Airband can provide services ranging from 2 MB to GigE speeds.
Airband serves 17 markets across the U.S., including Atlanta; Austin; Baltimore; Dallas; Fort Lauderdale; Fort Worth; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; Orange County, Calif.; Orlando; Philadelphia; Phoenix; San Antonio; San Diego and Washington, D.C.
