GeoLinks & Intracom Telecom Pave New Path for U.S. Fiber-Grade Broadband Access

All right. Welcome everyone once again here to Fierce Network. My name is Alejandro Piñero, your host, and I'm joined today by not one, but two experts to talk to us about their partnership and broadband access. Kyriakos Vergos, CEO of Intracom Telecom USA. And Kevin Hetrick, CEO of GeoLinks. Welcome to Fierce Network and thanks for joining us today.

Thanks for having us, Alejandro.

Absolutely. Well of course Intracom Telecom, a global leader in telecommunication systems and solutions, and Kevin CEO of GeoLinks. And I didn't know this before I researched this for the interview, so it's very exciting, you are the largest holder of licensed LMDS spectrum in the US, so it looks like a great partnership and I'm excited to hear all about it. So Kevin, let's start with you. As I mentioned, largest holder of LMDS spectrum in the US. What does that actually mean when it comes to broadband expansion and for those WISPs and ASPs looking to scale into enterprise and multi-tenant markets?

I think having access to licensed spectrum will help carriers scale their business in several ways. As you mentioned, we're the largest holder of LMDS licenses. GeoLinks holds 208 LMDS licenses spanning 1,300 counties nationwide, which includes Alaska. Licensed spectrum means exclusive use and allows for carriers to provide a fiber-like experience. By that, I mean multi-gigabit speeds, carrier-grade reliability and security that then enables entrance into new verticals such as enterprise, NBUs, government-type accounts. Delivery over fixed wireless access allows for cost-effective deployments in areas that are traditionally difficult to reach or cost-prohibitive for fiber. So the combination allows for just scale within a wireless provider's network.

Excellent. And Kevin, before we talk to Kyriakos a little bit, I did want to hear your side of why it makes sense for GeoLinks to choose Intracom Telecom for your deployment. And I know that the concept of licensed lockout and that factor is important. So how does that come into play for operators in the opportunity?

Intracom Telecom's WiBAS G5 platform is a perfect complement to what we are demonstrating. Carrier grade, field-proven, it's engineered for licensed millimeter wave spectrum. I think together we're showing what happens when advanced radio design is complemented by the secure foundation of licensed spectrum. In terms of the licensed lockout, the principle is simple. We're offering licensed spectrum, fiber grade speeds, putting it in WISP hands for the first time ever. I think it ties directly into GeoLinks broader vision, giving wireless operators the tools, the technology, and spectrum intelligence to compete and win on performance.

Kyriakos, we'd love to get it from your point of view as well, but first I mentioned briefly who Intracom Telecom are, but would love to get it from you a brief introduction and also how your technology is playing a role when it comes to expanding ISP broadband access across the US.

Thank you, Alejandro. So Intracom Telecom is a major worldwide vendor of wireless technologies. We have been around for 50 years. We're one of the oldest and largest vendors around, very much a specialist in millimeter wave bands. We do both the access side with point to point systems as well as the backhaul, the transport or transmission layer of a network. We are now very much focusing on the US market. We are focusing on US WISPs to enable their businesses with something really quite unique that has never previously been attainable. In conjunction with GeoLinks, having the possibility for the very first time to have access to licensed millimeter wave spectrum cost effectively, securely, we bring in the technology that with the current generation, the G5 system that we offer, we are able to overcome numerous technological challenges that previously were insurmountable when it came to millimeter wave transmissions.

It is well known that millimeter wave systems have not done well with respect to weather. When the weather gets severe, when it gets rough, the service might get degraded. With the new G5 solution, we are achieving several breakthroughs in millimeter wave transmission technology and we're eliminating, or overcoming, better said, these challenges, these issues. So you get a technology that can offer multi gigabit service at great distance and doing very well in spite of inclement weather. You put all that together with the GeoLinks newly available spectrum nationwide and you have an exceptionally compelling value position that has never before been available to WISPs in the US to compete against fiber or to complement their own fiber deployments. Whereas Kevin said fiber is not cost-effective or it's not going to get to a certain addressable market quickly enough, that's the beauty of fixed wireless access. You can get there very quickly and at a fraction of the price of fiber.

Got it. And you were hinting at it there in terms of why this partnership makes sense, but I did want to take the opportunity that both of you're here for you also, Kyriakos, to tell me and our viewers why this partnership makes sense and why partnering with GeoLinks is essential for you guys to continue to grow.

As I was implying just a second ago, the combination of GeoLinks with Intracom Telecom right now is unique. It's a fantastic opportunity made available to WISPs for the very first time in history to have the right technology that can overcome the previously insurmountable challenges of millimeter wave transmissions, the weather, distance issues, et cetera. And the enormous difficulty of accessing licensed millimeter wave spectrum. Before GeoLinks developed their groundbreaking business model, a smaller Wisp simply didn't have the availability of such spectrum, even if they did have the technology, which they didn't. So the timing is absolutely everything to get the right technology emerging exactly at the right time, when GeoLinks also brings forth this new business model, you put those two together and it's a dynamite combination.

Brilliant. And of course we're just a few days away from WISPAPALOOZA 2025 in Las Vegas where both of you will be attending of course. So Kevin, if we start with you, I'd love to hear what folks can expect to hear and see from GeoLinks at the show.

Alejandro, at WISPAPALOOZA next week, the GeoLinks Intracom demo will show multi gigabit throughput, sub-10 millisecond latency, zero interference, all delivered securely over a licensed spectrum. We think this is going to be a working example of how exclusive spectrum and advanced millimeter wave technology combined to create a secure high performance network environment. Again, the key takeaway here is fixed wireless has evolved from being a best effort service to being carrier grade with the use of licensed spectrum.

Absolutely, and that's a great message and an important one to deliver and show as you are with real case studies. Kyriakos, from your point of view, Intracom Telecom's presence at WISPAPALOOZA I'm sure won't be small. What can folks expect to see from you guys there?

Well, we did have a major presence at WISPAPALOOZA this year. We have one of the larger stands and were really be very proud to show off our latest technologies on the point-to-multi-point side, on the access side of the network for WISPs, the G5 platform offering multi-gigabit speeds at great distances reliably. It's a carrier-grade solution as Kevin mentioned. It's absolutely ground-breaking. It overcomes the well-known challenges of millimeter wave transmissions, inclement weather, lack of distance, etc. It's a fantastic system based on a revolutionary new technology called hybrid massive beamforming, we are the pioneers in this worldwide. And also at the same time we will be showcasing some of our backhaul point-to-point radio technologies, also much of it in millimeter wave bands where we are launching in the US a new 15 gigabit link, enormous capacity and achieving, again, incredible distances with such capacity and against challenging weather conditions.

In today's world, you need high capacity backhaul as well as you need high capacity access systems. One can't work without the other and we'll be showcasing all that and look forward to receiving everybody at our stand and explaining all the latest technology advances in greater detail.

Excellent. Well, Kevin and Kyriakos, firstly, thank you so much for dropping by here on Fierce Network to tell us about your work together and what we can look forward to seeing next week in Las Vegas and we look forward to having you again soon to hear more about what you accomplished together.

Thanks for having us, Alejandro.

Thank you.

No problem. And to you, thanks again for tuning in to Fierce Network. Bye-bye.