$35 Million from the Department of Agriculture for Broadband Services in Rural America

Stelera Wireless, a privately-held company specializing in wireless broadband services has received $35 million from the Department of Agriculture in the form of a low interest loan. The funds will be used to invest and grow the most technologically-advanced wireless broadband service available -- 3.5 generation HSUPA (High Speed Upload Packet Access).According to CEO Ed Evans, Stelera Wireless is the first in the nation to introduce this advanced technology and is unique in the deployment of a wireless network that is purely focused on broadband services. "Plenty of carriers are offering voice services and some data services, but we have built a network optimized for the broadband experience," Evans said.

Stelera Wireless is not only one of the first carriers to commercially launch in the AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) spectrum, but says it has also deployed this most sophisticated of technologies available globally to address a very underserved market -- rural broadband services. Rural customers, typically the last to receive service and the very last to enjoy the latest technology, will instead have access to services unavailable as yet in the largest cities in the U.S. as Stelera Wireless customers.

The Department of Agriculture loan will allow Stelera Wireless to launch 55 cities in 2008, with an initial focus on communities with less than 20,000 residents where broadband choices are limited and sometimes non-existent. The immediate planned locations are in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Oregon and Arizona. Larger markets will be included as growth continues. "This is only the beginning," said Evans.