SKYTILITY has emerged from stealth mode with their soft launch October 18, 2005 at ISPCON Fall 2005 followed a week later by its "hard launch" last week at WiMAX World 2005. (Link to the press release.)
SKYTILITY is a technology and vendor-agnostic Wireless System Integration company specializing in Broadband Wireless Internet Access (BWIA). SKYTILITY was formed to exploit a gaping hole in the Broadband Wireless Internet Access (BWIA) Industry - the absence of for-hire Systems Integration expertise that has significant experience and capabilities in deploying BWIA systems that operate reliably in license-exempt spectrum.
The problem that SKYTILITY addresses is that the currently-available expertise-for-hire to design and build license-exempt BWIA systems are primarily:
- Analysts - I've only seen a few reports, and heard of very few consultations from Analysts that are the least bit "clueful" about BWIA, and especially BWIA operating in license-exempt spectrum. You simply can't sit at a desk full time and truly get it about BWIA and license-exempt BWIA.
- Consultants - Individual consultants are some of the sharpest people in the BWIA industry, but the rapid evolution in BWIA Technology, vendors, products, WiMAX... other... have roared past the abilities of the majority of consultants to track, and thus be able to render qualified, impartial, up-to-date advice.
- Resellers - Their business is to "move boxes" with a minimum of support other than what is necessary to make the sale. (Yes, there are exceptions.)
- Vendors - it should be obvious that vendors are anything but impartial sources of advice in general, but many that contemplate a BWIA network feel that they have no choice but to rely heavily on advice from vendors because they realize that they can't get clueful advice anywhere else.
- Service Providers - They've developed their systems, collected their battle scars, learned the ins and outs of their preferred vendors, adapted to the particular parameters of the markets that they operate in, but in the end their advice probably isn't much more impartial then vendors.
- (Licensed Spectrum) Systems Integration - There are a lot of good Wireless Systems Integration companies that have deployed point-to-point microwave networks, wireless telephony networks, and two-way-radio systems. But those companies don't seem to... perhaps even cannot... understand how to design and deploy systems to operate reliably in license-exempt spectrum, other than those few systems that they've been specifically trained on by individual vendors.
I have two reasons for highlighting SKYTILITY's emergence. When I was first informed about SKYTILITY several months ago, I immediately grasped that its emergence was a key milestone in the evolution of the Broadband Wireless Internet Access industry. A company like SKYTILITY, with its broad and deep knowledge of, and ability to build License-exempt Broadband Wireless Internet Access has been needed for the Broadband Wireless Internet Access industry to evolve to the next level.
The second reason I am highlighting SKYTILITY's emergence is more personal. I was honored to be asked to join the SKYTILITY team as a consultant; my title with SKYTILITY is Senior Research Analyst. In that role, I analyze industry trends for SKYTILITY's internal use, and provide some strategic advice and various special projects, and provide SKYTILITY's perspective about the industry through SKYTILITY's corporate Weblog. My relationship with SKYTILITY has been immensely gratifying already, and there are many projects in the works which I am looking forward to. One of the things I am most looking forward to working with SKYTILITY is the ability to get more-than-occasional hands-on experience with Broadband Wireless Internet Access systems. It's been one of the frustrations of my writing career in Broadband Wireless Internet Access that I don't have much direct, hands-on experience with the systems I write about.
While my work for SKYTILITY will take up some of my available time, for the immediate future I will... am now able to... continue to write about Broadband Wireless Internet Access in my weblog and newsletter, and contribute articles to other venues, and perhaps a few special projects. Because of my relationship with SKYTILITY, I'm now generally unavailable for consultation projects relating to Broadband Wireless Internet Access (except through SKYTILITY).
This article is Copyright © 2005 by Steve Stroh. Excerpts and links are expressly permitted (and encouraged.)
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