While much public attention has been focused on municipal Wi-Fi networks, a privately funded company has quietly built a nationwide wireless data network that uses licensed spectrum in the 700 MHz band to enable businesses to have secure broadband connections to far-flung sites and resources for monitoring and real-time data collection.

Arcadian Networks spent two years in research and development to set up the network so that it can customize a national network for power utilities, oil, gas and water companies, government agencies, mining companies and others whose corporate resources are often widely distributed in areas with low population density, according to Arcadian CEO Gil Perez.

To date, these firms have had to rely on more expensive or much less reliable options such as landline connections, cellular networks, satellite networks and unlicensed wireless spectrum. Arcadian's goal is to use broadband wireless technology to deliver a more secure and real-time connection that is reasonably priced.

“Mission-critical assets have been exposed — with 9/11, there is the fear of terrorism,” Perez said. “Companies have to worry about how do you make sure those assets are not vulnerable, how do you monitor them? They won't do it just for security — it also has to improve their bottom line.”

Rather than rely on a patchwork quilt of network solutions that can be vulnerable to bad weather and even simple network latency, a broadband wireless approach provides instantaneous reporting of monitoring data and can support video connections for remote monitoring as well, Perez said.

The network is available in 23 states comprising more than 60% of the continental U.S. To conserve its resources, Arcadian is using an anchor tenant model, building out its infrastructure in areas where it has acquired a primary customer. It will then market services to others in that area.

“There are two million miles of oil and gas pipelines — every 40 miles you need a compressor, and every 50 to 70 miles, you need a generator,” Perez said. “Each one of these is a point of data that you could theoretically turn on and off. The scope of the market is billions of dollars, and we haven't touched public safety or the one million oil wells in the U.S.”