'Scary fast' internet company sets sights on apartment, condo buildings

Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Ron Hurtibise

Published September 11, 2016

 

A San Francisco-based Internet service provider plans to offer no-strings-attached, 1 gigabit-per-second service in Florida.

GigaMonster expects to bring its "scary fast Internet" to urban areas, including South Florida, by mid-2017. The company's application to provide telecommunications service in the state was unanimously approved Tuesday by the Florida Public Service Commission.

To get it, homeowners have to live in an apartment or condo complex, though. To offer competitive prices and justify the investment required to install fiber optic cable near potential customers, the company only provides service to what it calls "multi dwelling units," CEO Bill Dodd said in an interview Tuesday.

So-called ultra fast internet service is attractive to cord-cutters who consume large amounts of video via the Internet, who play complex video games, or who need to transfer large amounts of data quickly.

Currently, GigaMonster and its sister company DirecPath compete in 20 urban markets, including Denver and Atlanta. The company prices its fastest 1 gbps service at $109 per month in some areas and less in others, depending on investment costs, Dodd said. That's comparable to prices for 1 gbps services offered, where available, in South Florida by AT&T and Comcast.

Dodd says GigaMonster studied preferences of young adult customers and tailored its product to them. "We spent a lot of time thinking about what the new generation wants," he said. "We looked at everything people hate about their internet service provider and changed it."

That means the company requires no long-term contract or credit check, Dodd said. There are no caps on data usage and no hidden fees, and customers are guaranteed the same price for as long as they remain at their current address.

The company also streams popular video services such as Netflix, YouTube and Amazon across dedicated networks, eliminating the possibility of buffering delays or other interference from the open internet.

And while ordering standalone 1 gigabit service from the company might be ideal for cord-cutters, the company also works with DirecTV to offer TV and internet bundles at apartment and condo complexes.

Keeping a TV service will remain desirable to consumers as demand for ultra-high-resolution 4K service accelerates in 2017 and beyond, Dodd said.

The company has already acquired a small number of companies with existing telecommunications services in Florida and is pursuing contracts in the state, he said, declining to provide more details.

Further information will be made available when the company officially announces the start of its Florida operation, Dodd said.

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