Alyrica Networks provides wireless, high-speed Internet via microwave links

Jim Strittholt was caught in an Internet bottleneck.

His nonprofit environmental assessment and planning company, the Conservation Biology Institute, does a lot of intricate computer mapping for government agencies, private foundations and advocacy groups such as the World Wildlife Fund. CBI's digital subscriber line provided a high-speed, always-on connection to the Internet, but it slowed to a crawl whenever the Corvallis company needed to transmit a large computer file to one of its clients or its satellite office in San Diego.

"We have huge data needs," Strittholt said. "It was making it more difficult to get the job done quickly."

After considering several alternatives, he came up with an unusual solution: a wireless broadband connection from a small company called Alyrica Networks. After the first month of operation, Strittholt said, he couldn't be happier.

"The speed has nearly tripled in our office, and a lot of the problems we had before have gone away," he said. "Wireless broadband so far has been working very well."

The wireless connection has been a coup for the Conservation Biology Institute, but it may prove an even bigger one for Alyrica.

The two-year-old Philomath company has moved slowly so far. Entirely self-financed, the three-man outfit uses a high-frequency microwave signal - akin to that used by cell phone companies - to transmit its wireless Internet connection from a single tower on a ridge two miles north of town. The location provides line-of-sight coverage for an 8- to 10-mile radius.

"It's a new concept for a lot of people," said Joseph Sullivan, Alyrica's self-proclaimed "head geek." While other companies are beginning to provide the service in bigger cities, Alyrica is one of the first to offer so-called "fixed wireless" Internet access in the mid-valley.

Sullivan and his partners, brother Kevin Sullivan and Mike Gregg, are hoping the installation they did for the Conservation Biology Institute will serve as a calling card to announce their presence in the local market while helping them grow their customer base. At the same time, they're working to add more transmission towers with an eye toward expanding their network backbone throughout the Willamette Valley.

CBI partnered with its landlord to split the $1,000 cost of a microwave antenna for Madison Square, the two-story retail and office building at the southeast corner of Third Street and Madison Avenue. Alyrica waived the $1,500 installation fee. The building now has a "master link," which allows multiple users to connect to Alyrica's Internet service.

"We can beam in this really big, really high-speed connection, and from there we can beam out in a small area," Sullivan said. "This is four times faster than a 256k DSL account."

A second Madison Square tenant, The Buyer's Agent, has already signed up for Alyrica's service, and others may follow suit.

"Now anyone in the building can have a high-speed connection," said building owner Wes Koester. "I've got four tenants who are heavily interested."

Madison Square has a total of 14 tenants. That represents a potential windfall for Alyrica, whose client list currently numbers fewer than 45 accounts.

The Madison Square deal also suggests another possibility: a retransmitter antenna to extend the signal from Alyrica's main tower. In addition, the building's roof offers a tempting location for a microcell transmitter, which would allow Alyrica to broadcast an 802.11B "wi-fi" signal over a quarter-mile radius.

Customers could sign up for mobile accounts that would allow them to wirelessly surf the Net or check their e-mail on a laptop or PDA in a big swath of downtown Corvallis. Ultimately, Alyrica hopes to have wi-fi nodes throughout its coverage area.

Gregg, who handles most of the sales duties for Alyrica, is talking to Koester about both scenarios.

"Our schedule is to get this backbone architecture up throughout the valley and then set up these mobile nodes," he said.

At the same time, he's pursuing several other potential antenna sites.

"We're negotiating real estate for other towers throughout the valley," he said.

The next tower could go up within the next three weeks along Oregon Highway 34 between Corvallis and Tangent, and Gregg's pitching a business account that could provide sites from Junction City to Salem.

"We've got one company that has several offices they want networked, and they happen to be very tall structures," he said. "We're working very closely with them."

Alyrica's marketing plan involves keeping a lid on set-up charges to encourage customers to sign up for the service, which costs $45 a month for the basic package. Still, the initial investment for an antenna and installation is substantial: $380 for residential customers, and about $2,500 for a "master link" like the one at Madison Square that could serve multiple business accounts.

While Alyrica can't compete on price with cable modem or basic DSL service, the partners believe there are several potential markets that are ripe for their brand of fixed wireless service. People in rural areas, for instance, are often beyond the reach of cable networks. And while DSL service uses ordinary phone lines, you have to be within range of DSL switching equipment to get it, which can leave large coverage gaps even in the city.

Bob Fulton, who's done some installation work for Alyrica, thinks the company is onto a good thing.

"If you have a line of sight to one of their transmitters, it's a real good way to go," said Fulton, owner of Wired at Home, a Corvallis-based computer networking service.

"It may be the only way to go in some of these rural areas. I think these guys have found a niche in the market."

At a glance

WHAT: Alyrica Networks, a fixed wireless Internet service provider

WHO: Owned by Mike Gregg, Joseph Sullivan and Kevin Sullivan

WHERE: 521 N. 19th St., Suite B, Philomath

PHONE: 929-3330

ON THE NET: www.alyrica.net

Bennett Hall is the business editor for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at 758-9529 or hallb@gtconnect.com.