Rise Broadband moving its fixed-wireless to LTE technology.
, the Douglas County-based Internet provider, said Wednesday that it is upgrading its network to include the faster LTE (short for Long Term Evolution) that will double and quadruple Internet speeds offered to its mostly rural customers.
Customers will be able to get download speeds of 50 to 100 Mbps. Currently, Rise Broadband’s speeds start around 3 Mbps. The company also offers gigabit Internet where available, but only to commercial users.
The company, which last May, is starting with the city of Joplin, Missouri. The rest of its markets in 16 states, which include parts of Colorado, will be completed within 24 months and is based on demand.
Rise offers fixed-wireless Internet, which starts fast Internet at a location that is then beamed wirelessly to nearby buildings and houses. Customers must have a receiver and be within the line of sight of building or tower beaming Internet. Rise currently uses TDMA technology to get signals to customers who are up to 15 miles away.
Rise’s move to LTE, which is the same technology companies and T-Mobile use for 4G service, is only possible because LTE is being adapted for fixed-wireless use, said Richard Abels, a Rise spokesperson.
“Manufacturers are now making the equipment for LTE to be used in a fixed wireless environment. For example, ZTE, Huawei and Telrad are the three large equipment manufacturers adapting LTE to the fixed wireless environment,” he said.
The company has no plans to enter the mobile-service phone market. Rise employs 800 people, including 200 in Colorado.
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