Internet Reimagined

Tech

Orlando Startup U-wifi Takes a New Approach to How We Connect

For something that has become essential to virtually every aspect of modern life, the way we get internet has remained surprisingly traditional.

Schedule an installation. Wait for a technician. Run cables. Work around the infrastructure. And when something goes wrong, wait again.

An Orlando startup believes it is time to rethink that experience.

U-wifi is taking a new approach to connectivity for homes and businesses, combining 5G technology, automatic network selection, built-in failover protection and a new platform that could fundamentally change the way consumers pay for internet.

At the center of the experience is a compact gateway that plugs into a standard electrical outlet and is designed to automatically connect to the strongest available 5G signals from multiple sources without a technician, traditional installation or complicated setup.

For today’s larger homes, that simplicity can be especially meaningful.

Internet is no longer about connecting a computer in one room. It supports the home office, streaming, smart-home systems, security, connected appliances and entertainment throughout the property. It may need to reach several stories and across significant square footage, the pool and outdoor living areas, guesthouse or home gym. The more sophisticated the home becomes, the more essential the underlying connectivity becomes.

U-wifi is designed to make that connectivity more flexible.

The company’s innovative ProtectU™ technology takes the concept further with a 5G failover solution designed to keep consumers connected if a primary network connection is disrupted. The gateway automatically connects to other available networks, creating an ‘always on’ connection. In other words, the home will never be without internet.

For a business, that can be more than a convenience.

A restaurant processing transactions, a professional working from home, a company relying on cloud-based systems or a business using connected security and operational technology may not have the luxury of simply waiting for an internet connection to return.

ProtectU™ is designed around the reality that connectivity isn’t merely something a business uses—it is infrastructure the business depends upon.

But what if the way we pay for internet could be reimagined, too? That is the idea behind U-wifi’s patent-pending FreeU™ platform, which creates a new value exchange between consumers, advertisers and their internet provider. Rather than simply paying for connectivity, participating customers can voluntarily engage with advertising and earn credits toward their internet service. Those credits can potentially reduce the customer’s monthly service cost all the way to zero.

The significance isn’t simply the possibility of a lower bill. It is the model itself.

For decades, the relationship has been straightforward: Consumers pay for internet, while advertising exists largely somewhere else. U-wifi is implementing a different value exchange in which consumers can choose to participate in watching advertising and receive something tangible in return in the form of credits toward a service they already use.

In other words, U-wifi is turning attention into connectivity.

That makes FreeU™ more than a promotional feature. It is an attempt to rethink the economics of internet service and give consumers a more active role in the value exchange.

Combined with the company’s 5G connectivity and ProtectU™ failover technology, it represents a broader effort to rethink the internet experience from end to end.

U-wifi recently announced a strategic program with T-Mobile, combining T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G network with U-wifi’s technology and affordability initiatives. The company also leverages other major national 5G networks, allowing its gateway to seek the strongest available connection.

The Orlando startup is already attracting attention outside the traditional telecommunications industry. U-wifi was selected to participate in Plug and Play’s accelerator program, connecting the company with corporations, investors and technology leaders. It has also partnered with NASCAR driver Jeb Burton, an early adopter of the technology, and will sponsor two race cars at Talladega on October 24.

The bigger idea, however, extends beyond 5G.

For a connected household, reliable internet has become part of the lifestyle itself. For a business, it is an integral part of the infrastructure that keeps operations moving. And as both become increasingly dependent on connectivity, the expectation is shifting from simply having internet to having internet that is simple, resilient and intelligently delivered.

With the internet provider landscape becoming increasingly crowded with fiber, satellite and wireless, U-wifi is betting that the next evolution isn’t just faster internet. It is a different experience altogether that gives consumers more flexibility in how they connect, greater protection when networks fail and, through FreeU™, an entirely new way to think about the value of being connected.

That may be what “internet reimagined” really means.