Airwave Technologies, LLC was started in 2021 after it's founders in West Salem had no other solution for true broadband internet. The large cable providers refused to run cable out to rural areas, and after Covid we saw how badly the community needed a real solution. Some students and parents were able to utilize 4G hotspots provided by the schools, others couldn't get a signal. With local cellular towers being over-sold and congested due to massive amounts of data now being used, 4G hotspots ended up only being a temporary unreliable solution.
We tested some Ubiquiti hardware on the McCracken tower in West Salem for about 8 months before launching Airwave. We grew Airwave at the time to just under 100 customers, and started utilizing LTE CBRS licensed spectrum in some installations.
We have since acquired No Limits Broadband, another WISP in the area who launched about the same time. After the acquisition, we more than doubled in size and capacity now operating 13 tower sites in Mercer County and into Crawford County.
Our networks are custom built by us. When we need more capacity, we add it. We continue to work with our county commissioners as well as other planning commissions for grants and other funding opportunities for network expansion. We now offer two different types of technologies for Fixed Wireless internet - 4GLTE Licensed CBRS spectrum, and non-licensed 5ghz. Which we use really depends on your location and the foliage or obstructions between you and the tower.
Our goal has been and continues to be to provide reliable broadband internet service to underserved rural areas. We saw a need in our community and we decided to take on this project to provide the best service we can possibly provide with the tools we have.
