Tuesday, February 17, 2009

M/C Venture helps rock Airband’s $3M funding

By Mass High Tech staff

Boston-based venture capital firm M/C Venture Partners has helped Dallas fixed wireless company Airband Communications Inc. raise $3 million in a fourth round of funding.

Representing lead investor M/C Venture on Airband’s board of directors is partner Salvatore Tirabassi, who says that the firm sees “strong momentum” in Airband’s business model for fixed-wireless data and voice services.

Previous investors in Airband include Sevin Rosen, Crescendo, Key Venture Partners and Dolphin Equity Partners, according to an M/C Venture spokesperson, but it wasn’t clear which of the firms, if any, also participated in the new Series D round.

According to Airband officials, the new funding will be used to expand its fixed-wireless network to keep up with customer demand. Airband services customers in the small- and midsize business market by offering broadband access in the 3 Mbps to 20 Mbps range, as well 45 Mbps up to GigE speeds for enterprise-class high-bandwidth services for larger customers.

M/C Venture counts among its current active portfolio companies wireless carrier MetroPCS Inc. and NuVox Communications inc.