Former Covad execs plan nationwide Wi-Fi broadband network

Computerworld - MetroFi Inc., a start-up company founded by former Covad officials, is eyeing Wi-Fi as the foundation of a new nationwide broadband network that could serve as a viable alternative to high-speed service from local telephone and cable companies.
Chuck Haas, CEO of Mountain View, Calif-based MetroFi, declined to discuss the company's plans in detail, saying it is in "stealth mode." But he did say that MetroFi wants to use 802.11 wireless LAN technologies as the bedrock of its service, with "back-haul" connections to the Internet handled by a combination of high-speed wireless and fiber circuits.
Haas said MetroFi intends to focus primarily on the residential market -- which includes enterprise remote workers -- as well as small and medium-size businesses.
MetroFi plans to use "smart antenna" technology to boost the range of Wi-Fi hardware, which in LAN mode has a range of about 100 feet indoors to 300 feet outdoors, Haas said. In fixed mode, high-gain antennas can extend the range of Wi-Fi hardware to cover miles. That is the same technology used in November 2002 by the High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network in San Diego to span 72 miles with a fixed link in the 2.4-GHz band used by Wi-Fi gear (see story).
Haas declined to say what kind of range MetroFi expects with its smart antenna technology, except to say it would be better than the range offered by standard wireless LAN hardware.
Haas said MetroFi sees "a tremendous price/performance leverage" from the boom in the Wi-Fi market, which has produced 50 million chip sets and has seen a steep drop in price for hardware, which now runs well below $100. This "high-volume commoditization of Wi-Fi means the technology stands ready to be the next Ethernet," Haas said.
MetroFi will offer its service based on 802.11b and 802.11g wireless LAN standards, which provide raw data rates of 11Mbit/sec. and 54Mbit/sec., respectively, Haas said.

MetroFi intends to build on the experience of its founding team, many of whom, like Haas, come from Santa Clara, Calif.-based Covad Communications Group Inc., an alternative wired broadband supplier launched in 1996. Covad, which raised over $2 billion in funding and saw its stock price peak in March of 2000, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August of 2001. It exited Chapter 11 four months later and now claims to operate the largest nationwide broadband network, with more than 500,000 lines in service.
Besides Haas, a Covad co-founder, other veterans from the company now working at MetroFi include Pankaj Shah, co-founder and