Rainbow Broadband, a provider of broadband connectivity to the New York business community, has announced its supplying downtown building owners with WiMAX (News - Alert) technology.

 

With this announcement, the company aims to attract “bandwidth-hungry” businesses to commercial spaces, previously occupied by low-tech industrial businesses.

 

Moreover, through its Triple-P (Pay-Per-Port) program, Rainbow Broadband is offering landlords a way of monetizing their rooftops.

 

Company officials said that this program creates a “new revenue stream” for landlords by paying building owners a fee per active broadband connection installed.

 

“As some of our low-tech tenants moved away—woodworkers, garment makers, etc.—we realized that we had the spaces that high-tech businesses and start-ups desired,” said Kurt Trenkmann, property owner of 247 Centre St, a Rainbow Broadband outfitted building.

 

He pointed out that because most of the buildings are almost, and in some cases over a hundred years old, the option to install a fiber-based high-bandwidth network was not available to his firm, making IT a deal breaker.

 

Rainbow Broadband’s Ethernet uses WiMAX technology and a rooftop entry point to provide all New York City-area buildings with high-speed broadband.

 

“Rainbow Broadband's program gave us the ability to equip all of our buildings with the fast, reliable broadband these prospective tech tenants have been asking for, as well as allow us to generate revenue literally from our rooftop,” added Trenkmann.

 

Paul Newnes, partner at Last Exit, a digital strategy, marketing and design firm, said, “We initially tried a number of options, including DSL, cable modems and another wireless competitor. Rainbow Broadband was the only firm who could immediately provide us with the bandwidth we needed and at the price point we were looking for.”

 

Rainbow Broadband’s network of hubs enables companies to beam their broadband service to buildings in SoHo, the Manhattan neighborhood bordered by Houston, Lafayette, Canal and Varick streets.

 

Russ Hamm, president and founder of Rainbow Broadband said that downtown Manhattan has traditionally served as an important economic hub for New York City. However, he pointed out that carriers, like Verizon (News - Alert), have ignored this area, constraining business growth and making this district less economically viable.

 

“Our technology allows building owners, throughout the city, to offer the IT infrastructure that modern businesses need,” he said.