Efanz WiFi

Last week, Efanz signed an agreement with the Owners Association to install a 70 Acre WiFi HotZone at Aksarben Village, in Omaha, Nebraska.  To the average resident of Omaha, this may not get their immediate attention.  But, it is ground breaking for a number of reasons.

First, Aksarben Village is the first “Urban Mixed-Use Community”, which offers both residential, commercial and retail options within a unique development in the heart of Omaha.  Offering residents, business professionals, and visitors, free mobile Internet access builds upon the community feel and offers another reason to make Aksarben Village a destination.  The owners of the property in Aksarben Village have the vision of what it takes to create community…and our technology fits perfectly.

In addition, we believe that our deployment at Aksarben Village introduces Omaha to true high-speed, mobile Internet access.  Before long, consumers will begin to realize the benefits of instant access to email, shopping resources, video content, maps, news and all the other conveniences of the web that we have become reliant on.  Those within the property will be able to walk or drive anywhere within Aksarben Village and never loose access or reconnect.  That, in our opinion, is the future of the Internet.

Finally, Efanz will offer a third option for broadband Internet services to the residents and businesses within the area.  Offering both indoor and outdoor subscriptions for faster service brings a unique product to the businesses and residents of Aksarben Village that no other area in Omaha can offer.  Using fiber lines to bring Internet access to the property, our service is not only reliable, but able to provide all the speeds necessary to support business or residential needs.  At the present, Aksarben Village is the only area of Omaha where our 3rd Generation Wireless service is available; again, offering a unique feature for the property.

There will be more to come on the Aksarben Village WiFi HotZone as we get closer to the late July launch.  But, we are excited about this opportunity to “show off” our solution in the heart of our hometown.  For those who choose to live, work or play in Aksarben Village, the Efanz WiFi HotZone will change how they “connect”.

Tabor, Iowa June 3, 2008 – If you are passing through Tabor Iowa later this summer, you will notice the residents of this town of 1,000 in southwest Iowa are more “connected” than your typical rural Iowa community.  The Tabor City Council recently approved an agreement on to allow Efanz, Inc., an Internet service provider to install a citywide WiFi Internet network.  This is believed to be the first citywide WiFi Internet network to be installed in southwest Iowa and certainly the first for a city this size.

The Efanz WiFi Network uses small radio transmitters to broadcast high-speed Internet signals through the air.  These transmitters are strategically placed to provide coverage throughout the entire city, offering area residents and businesses reliable, mobile, high-speed Internet access.  “Besides bringing advanced broadband Internet access to Tabor, users will be able to use their service anywhere within the city; using any standard WiFi ready device”, said Roger Willey, Vice President of Marketing for Efanz.  “Whether that is a laptop computer, smart phone or a PDA, they can use it at home, work, or in the park”.

The City of Tabor decided to proceed after several months of considering the impact and benefits to the community.  “We want Tabor to be recognized as a progressive community”, said City Councilman Ross Silcock.  “We believe that with this high tech service, Tabor is positioned to compete with any larger city for attracting commercial and residential growth”.  “Our quality of life, low property taxes, proximity to Omaha and Eppley Airfield, and now technical infrastructure, makes us as attractive as any community in the area”.

Efanz will be installing a “third generation” switched mesh network; the latest in wireless engineering that has been winning acclaim in Minneapolis, Toronto and London.  “We were very careful to select technology and design strategies that are proven”, said Verlyn Veldhouse, President of Efanz.  “Finally, the technology has developed where it is both reliable and cost effective”.

The ability to cost justify the investment for broadband Internet technology has long been a sore spot for rural communities.  Being labeled as “ the last mile”, many rural towns have been ignored when it comes to the deployment of modern day data transfer networks.  The sheer cost of fiber, the expanse of uninhabited land, and the low population densities has deterred most incumbents from investing in improvements.  “Certainly the size of the community makes Tabor a larger financial risk”, said Verlyn Veldhouse, President of Efanz.  “However, the combination of improved performance of wireless technology and a creative approach with the city, has helped us build a solid business model and make true broadband Internet an affordable reality for small communities.”

Most Tabor residents and businesses will see a reduction in cost and an increase in connection speed.  Final prices are yet to be confirmed, but a 1.5 Mbps (upload and download) connection will be less than $30 per month.  This is less than half the cost of satellite based service and lower than most rural DSL connections.

Tabor Iowa is located in the Loess Hills area in Fremont County.  It is just east of Interstate 29 about 30 miles south of Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Efanz, Inc. is a national provider of Internet services having been in business for over 11 years.  The company is privately owned and located in Elkhorn, Nebraska.

For more information contact:

Roger Willey
Efanz, Inc.
(402) 965-4081 ext. 7010
www.efanzwifi.com

Ross Silcock
City Council
City of Tabor, Iowa
(402) 618-4935
www.taboriowa.us

Glenwood, Iowa, March 17, 2008 – Current and future residents of Lake Ohana, a 700 acre development just north of Glenwood, Iowa will enjoy their quiet, rural home and get affordable high-speed Internet.  But, it’s not just your typical broadband Internet service that they will be using.

Efanz, Inc. a Wi-Fi Internet provider and Timberline Holdings, LLC, the developer, announce an agreement to launch Efanz’ Wi-Fi Internet access for the residents of Lake Ohana.  The service, which is distributed above ground through a series of connected radio antennas, offers speeds, security and reliability that rivals or exceeds traditional “wired” service.  But even that doesn’t tell the whole story.  “The best way to describe the Lake Ohana deployment is that we are creating a large Internet “hotspot” that will ultimately provide mobile, wireless Internet access across the entire property”, said Roger Willey, Vice President of Marketing for Efanz.  “Being able to access the Internet, through any Wi-Fi ready device, at any given time is true third-generation wireless service”.

Rural areas and smaller cities have long been neglected, or even ignored by traditional Internet providers.  “In all fairness to the traditional providers of broadband Internet, the cost to deploy fiber cable in the ground prohibits them from servicing less populated areas” said Verlyn Veldhouse, President of Efanz.  “And, the service quality of traditional wireless has not always met expectations”.  “Our technology requires an investment, but we are able to blanket large areas with service at a fraction of the cost.”  “Thus making it a reliable and capable service as well as a viable business”.

Timberline Holdings President, Craig Nakamoto, felt it was an important feature to bring to Lake Ohana.  “High-speed Internet has become an important amenity for families today”.  “Being able to work from home, complete school projects or enjoy the best of what the Internet has to offer is more of a necessity than a luxury.”  “I felt that it was just as important to invest in this service as it was in other property improvements in order to meet the needs of Lake Ohana residents.”

Lake Ohana Wi-Fi is expected to be launched in late May and will offer each resident true broadband speeds.  The service will include all the features traditionally offered with Internet service as well as an affordable price.  “The price has yet to be finalized, but we expect it will be very competitive with other high quality service, “ said Mr. Nakamoto.

Lake Ohana is located 8 miles south of Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Timberline Holdings has completed the first of two planned development phases, which calls for 300 plus homes, a small shopping center and two lakes.

Efanz, Inc. is a national provider of Internet services having been in business for over 11 years.  The company is privately owned and located in Elkhorn, Nebraska.

For more information contact:

Roger Willey
Efanz, Inc.
(402) 965-4081 ext. 7010
www.efanzwifi.com

Craig Nakamoto
Timberline Holdings, LLC
(402) 650-1383
www.lakeohana.com

Coffee Shops, Airports, Shopping malls, Business Parks, Office Buildings, Hotels, Restaurants. Wifi hotspots are popping up on every corner, from Manhattan to Middle America, and as more business owners discover the opportunity that offering Wifi creates, they are also encountering the difficulty of building,  provisioning and securing their wireless networks as well as separating the network that runs their business.

We now have a solution!

Efanz expertise in Municipal wireless is easily transitioned to an individual campus or building. A HotZone provided by Efanz gives you the peace of mind that your network will be available, and your patrons will be thrilled! Plus we can provide support directly to your customers via our US based support center, insuring that their coffee is hot and the internet is fast and available…

According to a recent study by Nemertes Research, expanded video and interactivity will cause a bottleneck and slower connectivity for high-speed users as early as 2010. In what is considered the first study of projected online traffic growth, Nemertes President Johna Till Johnson suggests that the current copper and fiber lines will be overwhelmed to a point that connectivity will remind users of the “bad old days of dial up”. The article goes on to suggest that cable and phone companies may need to invest an additional $55 billion just to prevent the slowdown.

Why would the US, who already neglects many rural communities, and ranks behind such technical powerhouses as Denmark, Iceland and Korea in number of broadband users per 100 population, continue to invest in expensive and limited Internet infrastructure? The high cost of cable, the expense of trenching and burying, as well as the cost for repairs is the main reason we already pay too much for high-speed access… well that and the fact that there is typically little to no competition in each market.

Why make the same mistake twice? We already know that cable and phone providers can’t justify hardwired broadband to rural residents and businesses. Instead of the service getting cheaper as the initial cost of the network deployment is retired, consumers can expect higher costs, less competition and another long, frustrating rollout of high-speed Internet connectivity.

And, do we really believe that the publicly traded, hardwired providers, are going to lower their cost as performance slows? Do we believe they are ready to invest the money necessary to upgrade their technology before a bottleneck occurs?

I don’t. We talk to cities all the time that are still being forced to use old copper communication lines, that have long been outdated, because their local provider can’t build a positive business case. Now, with the need to start over, these towns will be even lower in the pecking order.

Do your community a favor. Jump right over “hardwired - part 2″ and move into the age of WiFi. It’s lower cost of deployment, broader coverage and the endless applications that come with mobility offers much more than expensive cable and restrictive wires. Businesses and residents will be especially interested in your community when the Internet slows to a crawl…

which appears to be sooner than we thought.

Original USA Today Article http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2007-11-18-slow-internet_N.htm?csp=34&loc=interstitialskip

Throughout our research into mobile broadband connectivity, we have been presented with a number of wonderful and applicable solutions, but none offered the immediate, affordable, simple connectivity of Wifi. Nearly every laptop sold in the US today has the off the shelf capability of connecting to a Wifi network. Cell phones are now released with multiple radios so they can utilize the power and availability of wifi networks rather than their native cellular network. T-mobile is offering both voice and SMS (text) messaging for free when connected to a Wifi network. The new iPhone was developed for primary use on a Wifi network. In a number of interviews, Steve Jobs CEO of Apple, Inc. has stated that although the iPhone connects through the EDGE network when wifi is unavailable; Wifi is what truly enables the power of this device

“The Cloud”, a wireless provider in the UK, is offering iPod Touch users Wi-Fi access for £3.99 per month, with no minimum term. The announcement came only a couple of weeks after Apple announced a partnership with The Cloud for iPhone users. The Cloud has been promoting its service together with companies such as Nokia (N800 users get free Wi-Fi access) and Vyke (mobile VOIP services).

The reasoning is very simple. There is more available bandwidth with Wifi than with mobile voice networks (EDGE, 3G…), and Wifi is not just for internet access. It is a communications network offering the freedom to connect any digital device over a unified platform. This delivers a tremendous breath of fresh air for developers and consumers alike.

Currently, if you would like to develop a product or interface to be used over an existing wireless network platform, you need permission and you need to pay licensing fees. Neither one of these come easy or cheap, and in the end you have a number of hands in the cookie jar. However, by utilizing an unlicensed spectrum for connectivity you give developers the freedom to create and explore. Ultimately delivering the power of choice back to the user, and open up a world of possibility rather than restriction.

Efanz has been delivering affordable internet access for 7 years now, and we have been offering a premium product for just $15.99 per month where our competitors charge an additional $8 to match our product. Even with that said they can’t touch our level of service. We intend to continue that trend into the broadband market, and Wifi makes it not only a possibility, but a reality.

Welcome to the Efanz WiFi Blog. Bookmark this page to keep up with the latest developments of WiFi networks and applications. Here you will be able to find an assortment of thoughts and views from the Efanz staff and system engineers, as well as reactions to articles from industry professionals.