Techware revives broadband project

Techware revives broadband project

Hartford, Wis. Techware, a Hartford-based technology services company, has announced plans to complete a wireless broadband network in the Washington County village of Germantown, but the company also has visions of serving other areas of the state.
Techware, which provides computer consulting services to businesses, will continue a wireless network project that already serves the western half of Germantown with three antennas installed in the village’s west industrial park.
Keefe John, owner of Techware, confirmed the company has received an undisclosed amount of capital from individual investors to resume building out networks in areas not served by broadband connectivity.
In August, Techware acquired select assets of Active Air Networks Wisconsin, which started but did not finish Germantown’s wireless project. Techware, which was a primary vendor of Active Air Networks, had to start over in several areas, including the rebuilding of both municipal relationships and network infrastructure.
According to John, Techware’s immediate focus will be the southeastern Wisconsin counties of Washington, Waukesha, and Ozaukee. After Germantown, it plans to build wireless networks in the communities of West Bend, Menomonee Falls, and Sussex.
The company works with communities to place its antennas on municipal-owned structures like water towers, but also works with private concerns to install equipment on tall buildings or cellular tower sites.
Johns said Techware is looking to install equipment on Germantown’s two water towers to provide coverage to the remainder of the village, which has a population of 18,260 people and more than 7,000 housing units, according to the United States Census Bureau. The existing Germantown wireless network extends to a 10-mile radius of the west industrial park.
For a city the size of West Bend, population 29,000, Techware also may install multiple antennas at three or four sites to cover the entire city.
In comparison, the city of Milwaukee, with a population of just under 600,000, plans to install an estimated 2,500 antennas as part of its citywide wireless fidelity or “Wi-Fi” initiative.
John stressed that Techware’s wireless broadband network solution is different than municipal Wi-Fi services in that the network is secured by built-in encryption and proprietary protocols “to keep data private.”
Broadband service will be provided at speeds of 14 megabits per second, which John said is fast enough to provide for services like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), streaming video, or “any Internet technology out there right now.”
Beyond the southeast
John confirmed that Techware is in discussions with prospective partners to build wireless broadband networks in other parts of Wisconsin.
“We’re always looking for partnerships because there are ISPs [internet service providers] in other parts of the state that use similar technologies,” he said.
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