AzulStar Inc. is expanding its wireless broadband services to Kalamazoo and two other Michigan cities.
The Grand Haven-based company, established in 2003, is a privately held provider of 4G and 5G wireless Internet.
The company says its WiMAX networks provide a faster speed, lower-priced, quicker set-up alternative to national telecom giants. Its services include high-speed Internet access, managed wireless networking and others. WiMax, is a wireless network, sometimes described as WiFi "on steroids."
The service has proven attractive to landlords whose tenants pay for it as part of their rent. Tenants simply find the building’s Wi-Fi network using their own computer, smart-phone or tablet, select their speed plan and have access to very high speed Internet within minutes. Because AzulStar does not have to pay another party, such as a phone company, it can offer the service at competitive rates.
Unlike fixed networks that require wires in order for users to be connected and which can takes weeks for installation, AzulStar’s wireless service can be connected much more quickly.
Other critical customers for AzulStar are those that have fixed networks through telephone or cable companies but who use AzulStar as a backup service for times when the other service fails.
"It’s a little bit of a niche, but it’s a very nice niche," says AzulStar Chairman and CEO Tyler van Houwelingen.
In Kalamazoo, AzulStar will market its service to business owners, apartment complex managers and public agencies, such as Western Michigan University. Some universities already are abandoning their fixed networks and moving entirely to WiFi and its a trend van Houwelingen expects his company to benefit from as it continues.
Two angel investment organizations recently put money into AzulStar for undisclosed amounts making it possible for the company to grow, says van Houwelingen.
Grand Angels and
Blue Water Angels together have provided the company with the largest investments it has ever received. The company’s expansion in Kalamazoo, Lansing and Muskegon is possible at this time as a direct result of the venture capital money it received, he says.
The company, which currently employs 16, has one person now working in Kalamazoo, van Houwelingen says. The staff is expected to grow further during the coming year.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Tyler van Houwelingen, AzulStar Inc.
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