NextWeb still adding to WISP holdings

NextWeb, the Fremont, Calif., wireless ISP that has acquired or merged with a handful of fellow ISPs over the last few years, announced it has acquired the assets of 1st Universe, a fixed-wireless service provider in Southern California's Orange County. The addition will compliment NextWeb's existing network in the Los Angeles area.

Graham Barnes, CEO and founder of NextWeb, said his company already has "an established network in the Southern California area as a result of our SkyPipeline and WorldWide Wireless acquisitions. With our acquisition of 1st Universe, we now have a significant footprint and valuable market share that will allow us to increase capacity, coverage and availability for NextWeb."

The acquisition will combine 1st Universe's coverage area in the greater Orange County, CA area with NextWeb's extensive network throughout California and Nevada. NextWeb currently provides service to more than 2,500 corporate accounts in the largest metropolitan markets in California and Nevada including the San Francisco Bay Area, the Greater Los Angeles area, Orange County and, most recently, Las Vegas.

While NextWeb has been expanding its network, it also has continued to raise new funding, most recently picking up $3.5 million in new financing. Meanwhile, Barnes said that Sean Loftis, president and CEO of 1st Universe, grew his company into a strong competitor with virtually no outside investment. "We have chosen NextWeb to take the company to the next level as it continues to strive for the widespread deployment of broadband fixed-wireless service in Southern California and beyond," Loftis said in a statement.

Lindsay Schroth, senior analyst at the Yankee Group, added that NextWeb's ongoing growth strategy has positioned it well to succeed in and increasingly competitive market.