As the ‘information age’ expands so does the need for affordable, secure and reliable high speed internet. Residents and Small Business Owners are increasingly deciding where to live and build their businesses based on the availability of high speed internet.

Access to the Internet has become more of a necessity than a luxury over the past few years and many residents of Central Minnesota do not have access to even basic internet service.

SkyNet Broadband, Inc. was founded to bring "state of the art" wireless high speed internet access to the various unserved and underserved populations in Central Minnesota. With SkyNet’s new technology we will be able to give these residents high speed wireless broadband internet quickly and efficiently and foster development that can address the needs of communities using the most efficient technology available.

We receive a multitude of calls daily from customers in and around our headquarters who are in desperate need of a solution to their high speed internet needs.

This is where we need your help! SkyNet has established a solid foundation and infrastructure for providing service to those in need, but needs your help in raising funds which will enable us to activate additional tower sites in the rural St. Cloud area. With your help we will be in a position to bring access to the internet to a much wider audience more quickly. SkyNet’s solution for the suburban/rural areas allows us to quickly bring a high speed internet solution to the currently unserved or underserved areas.

Access to high-quality broadband helps people to take advantage of online education, telemedicine, or telecommuting. These broadband-intensive applications give users the capability to perform remotely functions traditionally done in person, allowing services to reach more people, for a lower cost, and with a lower impact to the environment.

Broadband access can bring more than economic progress, including:

improved health and safety to all communities online government services saving travel and time telemedicine allowing people to remain in their home as they age online education keeping rural communities vibrant and alive while giving residents access to experts and resources around the world

There remain a significant number of rural communities without even a basic connection to the internet much less one with speeds necessary to take full advantage of what the internet has to offer. With your help, SkyNet will be in a position to bring a much needed service to these unserved and underserved communities much more quickly.

SkyNet Broadband, Inc. plans to execute a radiating pattern of expansion from our headquarters in order to service as many subscribers as quickly as possible while doing so with the least cost and impact to the environment.

SkyNet Mission

To provide consistent delivery of high speed internet with unsurpassed customer service

SkyNet Keys to Success

Provide a culture resulting in staff devoted to delivering on our mission Ensure our customer’s needs are met and maintain a 98% customer retention ratio

SkyNet Objectives

The overall goal of SkyNet Broadband is to become Central Minnesota’s number one Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP). SkyNet will provide faster internet speeds to its customers at competitive rates and be able to cover areas where limited internet options are available.

SkyNet Broadband will measure its progress towards this goal through these objectives:

1. Consistent delivery of high speed internet with unsurpassed customer service thus encouraging repeat business, high customer satisfaction and retention rates.

2. Be an active and vocal member of the community, and to provide continual re-investment through participation in community activities and financial contributions.

3. Consistent expansion by opening up more tower site locations beginning within the counties of Central Minnesota to reach more and more potential customers.

4. Each expansion phase will focus on one county until we have established an effective coverage area within that county then we will continue into the next phase.

 

Finally great service!

SkyNet Company Summary

SkyNet Broadband, Inc. is a fixed wireless internet services provider (WISP)currently serving St. Cloud, MN residences and businesses. SkyNet utilizes “state of the art” fixed wireless equipment to provide their subscribers with high speed internet. Our fixed wireless internet service is facilitated via broadcasting a radio signal from a tower site location out to a receiving radio located at our subscribers home or business.

SkyNet is able to bring high speed internet to those areas who currently are either not able to receive high speed via traditional in ground copper/fiber or need more reliable service than currently is offered in their area. Most specifically this is found in suburban/rural areas and smaller communities on the outer ring “Last Mile” of urban areas like Minneapolis.

SkyNet’s solution for these areas, utilizes a digital wireless signal sent/broadcast through the air, similar to a cell phone, which allows us to quickly deploy high speed internet to currently unserved or underserved areas.

SkyNet Services

SkyNet Broadband, Inc. offers customers high speed internet access, Digital Voice (VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol) and Data Backup. SkyNet subscribers can select our services ala carte.

Internet

SkyNet Broadband, Inc. offers fixed wireless broadband internet access. The internet service, which is up to 10x faster than DSL, only needs a roof radio antenna and must live within range of the signal which covers about a 3.5 mile radius from each tower site.

The high-speed technology is based off of the 3.65GHz licensed spectrum. This frequency is not in use by consumer communication devices(i.e. cordless phones, baby monitors etc.) which eliminates any interference compared to the antiquated 900 MHz channels. The network cable from the roof antenna into your home can be connected directly to a device (i.e. laptop) or into a wireless router to enable the signal to be sent wirelessly throughout your home.

Voice

SkyNet Broadband, Inc. offers VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol. SkyNet VoIP works just like a regular phone with just one key difference – how the call actually gets to you. Instead of using the high priced telephone company’s wiring, SkyNet VoIP routes your phone calls directly to your telephone using your high speed internet connection.

Data

In the near future SkyNet Broadband, Inc. will be adding services designed to meet our subscribers various data needs.

Market Analysis Summary

There continues to be a proliferation of broadband internet connections. With so many people enjoying fast connections at work, they are no longer willing to deal with a dial-up connection at home. With the advent of this “state of the art” 3.65GHz fixed wireless technology being offered by SkyNet in the state of Minnesota, customers can now enjoy a faster connection without having to lay expensive cables since the signal is sent via radio waves.

The targeted market segments consist of residences and businesses located in suburban/rural areas. These areas are unserved or underserved by the traditional and costly in-ground fiber.

SkyNet has put together this Expansion Plan based on the overwhelming requests for internet access from residents/businesses in the neighboring counties from our headquarters.

Market Segmentation

As the ‘information age’ expands so does the need for affordable, secure and reliable high speed internet. Residents and Small Business Owners are increasingly deciding where to live and build their businesses based on the availability of high speed internet.

Our neighboring cities are faced with the challenge of finding a solution to the ever increasing dilemma of their communities having the availability of high speed internet to attract and retain residents and business owners, without raising taxes to try to cover a fiber build-out.

SkyNet has chosen the neighboring cities as target markets due to their increasing need for reliable high speed internet and continued lack of affordable options. The phases have been designed based on current market feedback SkyNet receives daily.

What is Broadband?

In general, the term broadband refers to a network connection with high bandwidth. High-speed Internet connections that allow for transfers of information at rates far faster than those of dial-up modems.

According to the FCC, the term “broadband” means 768 Kbps. According to the Minnesota Broadband Task Force’s definition, the minimum broadband speed should be 10-20 Mbps (download) and 5-10 Mbps (upload) for all residents of Minnesota. These speeds allow communities to grow jobs, improve educational opportunities and have faster access to health care services. As of October 2014 only 78% of Minnesotans had access to these speeds.

For the most part, broadband networks have evolved from two existing networks: cable and telephone. Only in the last few years have new networks been deployed that are specifically built for the purpose and use of broadband. The various types of broadband are outlined below:

Cable. A coaxial connection that uses the cable TV wiring for transmission. DSL (digital subscriber line). A connection that utilizes the copper phone lines as the method of transmission. Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH). To be classified as FTTH, the access fiber must cross the subscriber’s premises boundary and terminate inside the premises, or on an external wall of the subscriber’s premises, or not more than 2 meters from an external wall of the subscriber’s premises. Mobile wireless. A connection that uses the mobile phone towers for transmission. Satellite connections. A connection via a geosynchronous satellite. Fixed wireless. A connection facilitated via a radio signal from a tower site access point to a subscriber radio on your home or business.

Competition and Buying Patterns

As mentioned in the previous section, DSL, cable, FTTH, mobile wireless and satellite access are the competitors in the broadband market. Consumers buying patterns are based on two factors:

Availability: not every type of broadband connection is available to every consumer. Consumers often pick service providers based on what is available to them.

Convenience: Consumers often pick service providers based on how difficult is it to obtain and/or how long does it take to activate service.

Current Market Feedback

Suburban

SkyNet Broadband, Inc. receives numerous calls each day from local customers who currently utilize existing services such as CenturyLink, Charter, and Comcast. These companies are primarily rooted into densely populated areas because they only utilize hard line technology. One would think they pose a significant competition since they are highly known/advertised companies. However, what SkyNet is hearing on a daily basis is that they are only utilizing these companies because options are limited. The complaints we are hearing repeatedly are:

Their bill is never the same month to month; there are always new fees. Speeds are over promised and under delivered Customer support has been outsourced to foreign countries resulting in a language barrier

SkyNet Broadband, Inc. eliminates these issues because we can provide

Matching or better data speeds at competitive or better rates Consistent internet service Local tech support Fixed bill each month without surprise fees

Rural

Working from home is now possible for everyone! Working from home is now possible for everyone!

SkyNet’s website is designed to allow a potential customer to enter their address and determine if they are within our coverage area. On a daily basis, our website takes in numerous requests for service from outside of our coverage area. These customers have used or are currently using either satellite internet or cellular hotspot technology and are extremely dissatisfied due to the huge limitations and disadvantages. Satellite and Cellular have much of the same issues between them, such as:

Both require the leasing or purchasing of equipment Both have data caps preventing customers from utilizing the full potential of the internet Both have high latency times, which causes additional lag time to access the internet and disrupts VoIP service. Both require contracts Both are very costly when compared to the service being provided.

Simply put, rural areas outside the current coverage area are begging to have a better alternative to their current options. SkyNet’s solution for rural areas can not only address their needs but exceed their expectations.  

Expansion Plan Strategy and Implementation Summary

SkyNet’s strategy is to expand our service into neighboring cities by activating additional sites. SkyNet Broadband, Inc. will facilitate its expansion via a phased approach, expanding tower site by tower site across the targeted areas.

Competitive Edge

SkyNet’s competitive edge lies in our ability to be the first internet service provider to bring high speed wireless internet with fiber optic speeds. The “state of the art” SkyNet equipment is the first of its kind to be deployed in our target market.

Additionally, SkyNet is able to install and activate a broadcast site in a fraction of the time and cost it would take for traditional hard line connections.

Marketing Strategy

SkyNet employs a multi-pronged marketing approach:

Mailings. SkyNet utilizes a targeted mailing campaign to the local residents. Website. SkyNet leverages its website as a comprehensive and efficient source of marketing/sales information. Outside Sales. SkyNet uses an outside sales staff to have direct contact with business owners and in turn with employees. Billboards. SkyNet’s use of billboards will increase name recognition and encourage visits to our website. Public transportation. SkyNet’s use of advertising on public transportation vehicles will increase name recognition and encourage visits to our website. Company Vehicle. All of SkyNet’s vehicles have been wrapped entirely with our logo and company identity which acts as a moving billboard throughout the communities we service. Word of Mouth. Last but not least is the word of mouth results from our extremely satisfied customers.

Sales Strategy

The sales strategy SkyNet employs is based on developing awareness of SkyNet’s service as a viable alternative to cable and DSL within the community. The message we use is “you can receive broadband connections to your computer, wherever it may be, even your laptop on your front lawn, at higher speeds than what your current options provide.”