JAB rolls 5 brands into Rise Broadband, plows $30M into network

Denver Post May 15, 2015
BUSINESS
JAB rolls 5 brands into Rise
Broadband, plows $30M into
network
By Tamara Chuang - The Denver Post
POSTED: 05/15/2015 04:25:14 PM MDT
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UPDATED: 05/15/2015 04:25:21 PM MDT
JAB Broadband rolled its five consumer brands into one — Rise Broadband — on Friday
and committed $30 million to improve its rural network.
The Douglas County company wants to get average customer Internet speeds up to 20
megabits per second and make sure there's enough bandwidth to keep service smooth —
even during the evening rush hour.
"We don't want the customer to know it's between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.," said Jeff Kohler,
JAB's co-founder and chief development officer. "Because with any carrier, you can
almost set your watch to 7 p.m. because 7 to 9 p.m. is peak usage. Everyone has a bumpy
experience."
JAB's lofty goals are also expected to improve customer perception in 15 states, where
the company has acquired 107 small providers in the past 10 years. The company
employs 800 people, including 200 in Colorado. Under five brands — Digis, Skybeam,
Prairie iNet, T6 and Rhino Communications — JAB quickly became the nation's largest
fixed-wireless Internet service.
But rapid growth also impacted its reputation. Customers complained of poor service
and ranked some of its brands, particularly Skybeam, extremely low on sites
like DSLReports.com and the Better Business Bureau.
"We all know that many people who post on-line are dissatisfied customers - and the
ones who have had positive experiences often do not take the time to share their
experiences. All a customer has to do is contact us directly for their issue to be handled,"
Kohler said.
JAB, which remains the parent company, relies on fixed-wireless Internet technology.
Using a series of towers in rural areas, high-speed Internet is beamed to receivers
installed at customer homes up to 15 miles away.
Consolidating into Rise Broadband is meant to reduce customer confusion and save
money by combining marketing efforts.
Kohler said that the $30 million upgrade includes adding new equipment and
technology to the towers and customer homes. The company is also buying more
broadband from providers like Level 3 Communications. Kohler said he expects the
process to take 12 months and improve service for 80 percent of its 200,000 customers.
"We've already started," he said. "We're going to be making upgrades to areas that have
highest demand."
Customers who are not at 20 mbps should see speed improvements. Capacity could
increase too, although Kohler said that the company's largest data plan is 250 GB and
the average customer uses only 50 GB. In some areas, Rise offers business users speeds
of up to 1 gigabit per second.
Broadband is widely available in the U.S. even in rural areas. The National
Telecommunications and Information Administration estimates 96 percent of rural
residents can get up to 6 mbps. But rural areas lag. In the U.S., 54.6 percent of rural
communities can access speeds of up to 25 mbps, which is the Federal Communications
Commission's new benchmark speed for broadband. By comparison, urban areas are at
94 percent.
In Colorado, the rural number drops to 31.2 percent.
Faster Internet service is especially needed for rural residents to help spur innovation,
job creation and connect communities often left behind, said Heather Gold, president
and CEO of the Fiber To The Home Council, which promotes building fiber directly to
homes.
"Many people have the misperception that rural areas don't need fiber the same way
urban areas do. But in fact they need it more," Gold said.
Tamara Chuang: 303-954-1209, tchuang@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Gadgetress