- April 24, 2024
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O2 Secure Wireless Inc. received its approval from the Federal Communications Commission to provide Internet service in Palm Coast.
Cable service users in the city of Palm Coast may soon get a breath of fresh air — oxygen, to be exact.
O2 Secure Wireless Inc., a developer of numerous wireless tower facilities across the U.S., and a provider of wireless broadband communication services domestically, recently received its approval from the Federal Communications Commission to provide cable services in Palm Coast.
With the approval, O2 is now the third company in the city providing high-speed 4G-wireless service, representing a total market potential in the range of 38,000 households.
According to an O2 press release, the prices of the high-speed 4G-wireless service packages will be competitively priced, with the median revenue per client to be estimated at $90 to $100 per month.
However, O2 isn’t the only beneficiary in the newly announced deal. The city and its residents will benefit, too.
James Majcen, Internet and technology and communications director for the city, said O2 will be a customer of the city’s open access fiber network (FiberNET).
From the city’s perspective, O2 presents another great opportunity to generate revenue from its $1 million fiber optic investment, Majcen said.
“We’re also nurturing our local economy,” Majcen said. “O2 will have offices here in Palm Coast, and they will need staff to support their operation. This means jobs, office occupancy and commercial tax base.”
O2 will be added to the mix of providers with Brighthouse Networks and AT&T, Majcen said, adding that it will be good for the competitive marketplace.
In July 2010, O2 signed a merger agreement with Earthcom Service Inc., also a wireless communications company, as reported by www.TMCnetcom. With this merger, Earthcom became O2’s wholly owned subsidiary.
Val Kazia, president of Earthcom Services Inc., said that residents in the city will now have the opportunity to be provided with 4G speeds at simple pricing and no contractual obligations.
“We would be hiring at least 50 people in the first year and then growing from there as we expand services to other areas,” Kazia said Tuesday in an e-mail.
City Manager Jim Landon said O2 would become a significant customer of the city’s FiberNET, providing a quicker return on its investment than the city would have expected. The city currently has a contract with Florida Hospital Flagler and is working on contracting with another “big customer in town,” Landon said.”
There is also another broadband provider talking to the city about providing a “higher level of service for large users,” Landon added. If that deal is successful, he said, “It could help the city attract businesses that have a need for a lot of broadband capacity.”
