HAMPTON – An Exeter High School alumnus and his business partner have formed a startup company that offers high-speed Internet at a much lower cost.
People living in Hampton Beach might pay between $40 and $85 a month for internet Radio wave networksrun by East Kingston native Al Datillo and his friend Trent Linville.
The two, ages 22 and 21, met in college at the Florida Institute of Technology when Linville was just launching Airwave. Now, I’m on a mission to help customers get off their cable and internet packages that can run people well over $100 a month.
“Sea Coast residents and businesses have long been waiting for someone new to the market that offers the speeds they pay for, all at a reasonable cost,” Datillo said.
How does it work?
Air wave uses radio frequencies to provide fast and low-cost Internet service. At this point, they said they are only able to offer their service hyperlocally. Service currently extends from near the Hampton Beach Police Station on Brown Avenue to north of Boar’s Head.
Airwave is not the first company to offer wireless service using radio frequencies. They said the Starry company offers a similar service on a larger scale, covering urban areas like New York and Boston.
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Airwave a product of technology students
Linville started the company in his home state of Indiana, where he also has service provided in the southeast part of the state. Now out of college, the duo decided to also branch out to Datillo’s home area of coastal New Hampshire. They’ve found a place atop an Ocean Boulevard apartment building and have been up and running for about eight weeks.
Datillo said the customer acquisition has come with a significant re-education as so many people are used to paying high prices for cable packages that offer Internet, telephone and television. He said many people have been persuaded by the cable companies that the departure will result in poor service.
The average monthly cost for cable Internet bills was $116 per month in 2021, according to the United States Cable and Internet Market Size and Household Spending report.
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No contracts, just high speed internet
Datillo and Linville say their service comes with no contracts, allowing for a monthly service. Hampton Beach Village District Commissioner Chuck Rage, also a recruiter and owner of a beach hotel, said the service will help many people who live on the beach only part of the year.
“I think what’s so cool about that. It’s something you don’t have to have permanently. You can do it seasonally,” Rage said. “This will help people who have condos.”
Airwave is currently working to expand its coverage to Ocean Boulevard along the North Beach Seawall. Growth beyond Hampton Beach anytime soon is unlikely, they said, as they want to make sure they can maintain quality.
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However, they said they could add to the service they provide to the beach by working with local officials. They said they planned to meet with the city to talk about new right-of-way access for locations to improve service.
Rage said he plans to talk to them about providing internet for the Seashell Stage where the Village District holds evening concerts in the summer. Datillo also said they could look into ways to provide free public WiFi by working with local officials.
“We look forward to building a relationship,” Linville said.