Audio Video News

Entrepreneurs never sit still. Even in the face of defeat. Witness Aereo founder Chet Kanojia whose ingenious Internet-based TV delivery scheme was deemed illegal last year by the Supreme Court.

Wasting no time jumping back in the saddle, Kanojia is getting ready to launch a venture called Starry that “could provide wireless Internet access in major metropolitan areas,” according to a report in Variety. With Aereo it was the broadcast TV establishment. With Starry it’s Comcast and the cable TV establishment that deliver Internet-access on a massive scale.

Researching public records, Variety has pieced together that the Starry trademark application covers “‘wireless and wired telecommunications and data networking hardware; network routers; wireless routers; wireless access points’ as well as ‘providing access to the Internet; providing access to digital content; Internet access provider services.’

The company has also registered with the IEEE to build wireless devices and earlier this month asked the FCC for permission to test new wireless equipment, according to the report:

The application details that Starry is working on wireless transmission equipment operating in the 3.8 Ghz range. Each test setup would consist of 15 base stations to be installed at a central location, and up to 250 devices presumably placed in people’s homes — suggesting that Starry is testing some kind of wireless internet access points. Basically, the company may sell or lease consumers a special kind of router that connects to a nearby wireless transmitter, very similar to the way a cell phone works, but for in-home internet access.

And here’s the kicker: Starry doesn’t just want to test this setup in Boston, where it is currently headquartered, or in New York, where it also has an office. The company applied for tests in 15 metropolitan areas across the U.S., including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Washington D.C., Seattle and Denver.

In this context, it seems all too fitting that Kanojia suggested a talk titled “Challenging the Monopoly: The New Broadband” to the upcoming SXSW event in Austin, Texas. (This event, as well as the Starry trademark, were first reported by CNET Thursday).

During his talk, he planned to deliver “a compelling discussion of the new technologies on the horizon that will change how we access the internet.”

And who knows? Maybe Kanojia will also throw some media play in for old time’s sake. The Starry trademark application also mentions “electronic transmission and streaming of digital media content.” Because if you take on Comcast, you may as well meddle with their video business too.

Read the full report here.