Intracoastal Internet: WiFi on the water

Wired for success: ICWIFI President and CEO Randy Lively brings his executive experience to the tech start-up

There is no comprehensive wireless coverage for the streets and restaurants of Wilmington, but there soon may be for our beaches. Intracoastal Wireless Internet (ICWIFI) wants wireless for the water.

“We hope to create a network over the waterway,” said President and CEO Randy Lively. “All along the waterway is a market of people that are residential, that are pretty much deprived of the Internet.”

Lively’s target are coastal residents, boat enthusiasts, and houseboat owners who may travel up and down the coast. Their goal is to eventually provide seamless Internet within a mile of the coast from Morehead City to Jacksonville, Fla.

ICWIFI asks residents and marinas in beach areas to install their Internet repeater radios to create a “mesh” of wireless networks.

“We’re getting a very good reception from businesses and so forth along the waterway,” Lively said.

Those looking for Internet connections within the range of the receivers can choose “ICWIFI” with their wireless connection and choose a payment plan for service. Available plans include $3.00 for 24 hours, $10.00 per week or $35.00 per month.

“We’re charging very competitive rates for our service,” Lively said, adding that they do not have to install cables to homes. For some areas, ICWIFI will utilize solar panel receivers for areas where electricity is not readily available.

Launched in January with six employees, Lively estimates that the company will install thirty to thirty-five receivers from Wrightsville to Carolina Beach. Some service is
currently available in the Wrightsville Beach area. The company wants to install receivers in Myrtle Beach by the end of the year, with aims for Jacksonville, Fla., by 2011.

“Jacksonville is a natural target,” Lively said. “We wanted to have a powerful signal pointing north.”

A former executive with Zales Jewelers and Bailey, Banks and Biddle, Lively is bringing his business expertise to EnCompass Group LLC, which serves as the parent company for ICWIFI to offer website hosting and data backup to small businesses in the area. Lively joined with three other partners from Ashland, Ky., to make the company happen.

Describing it as an “Internet facilitated data processing operation,” Lively hopes EnCompass and ICWIFI can find a niche in the small business community of Wilmington. Data and generator back-ups have been developed through their chain of servers to provide service despite any hiccups from weather or accidents.

“There’s a level of small business that simply gets left behind because they can’t deal with the technology,” Lively said. “What we have is the complete diagnostic capacity.”