The Chattanooga-based st3 Internet firm is positioning itself to be at the forefront of the high-potential Insternet streaming business, its CEO says.
Jay Kern, who is moving from Cincinnati to head up the high-flying firm that is on Amnicola Highway, outlined the company's progress to the Hamilton Place Rotary Club.
Mr. Kern said st3 spend three years building its own nationwide fiber network for distributing its streaming product.
He said the firm has just begun selling its product in the last 90 days and already has signed 27 customers.
He said the firm specializes in production of moving images on the Internet, including movies that he says can be extremely clear.
"I was watching Batman Forever the other night on my computer, and it was better than on TV," he said.
Mr. Kern said the ultimate goal is to have "video on demand." He said, "You will be able to watch whatever you want to watch when you want to watch it."
He said with the firm having its own distribution system, it allows it to charge much less. He said, "We have our own rate card, and that surprises people."
He stated, "There might not be much demand for a $20 movie. But there's a lot of demand for a $4 movie."
He said the Broadwing firm invested $8 million in st3 and "made us their preferred provider." He said st3 also has a cooperative agreement with KMC, a telephone and Internet firm that also has made a major investment here.
He said some of the firm's customers include the Republican National Committee and World Cup Soccer. On the latter, he said many residents of southern Florida watch soccer over the Internet because it is not available on TV.
He said the firm, which previously was NexLec, bought an abandoned grocery warehouse on Amnicola Highway. He said it is now filled with its equipment as well as a huge amount of stored data.
The firm has grown to 106 employees.
He said the company's transmission has 99.97 percent reliability - with a totally redundant power system installed at the Amnicola site as backup. He said, "Cable comes into all four corners of our building."
He said st3 has raised $33 million in capital and is in the final stage of its fundraising.
Mr. Kern said Chattanooga is "a great place for an Internet firm to have its headquarters because the city was a railroad hub and there is so much fiberoptic running through here."