This sounds like some pretty cool technology that could really improve mobile connectivity. It seems odd that the carriers haven’t come up with something like this themselves.
  – Jeff

by Monica Alleven | Nov 17, 2016 | FierceWireless

Former T-Mobile executive Cole Brodman has joined software company M87 as CEO, pitching a solution that will enable wireless carriers and app developers to create a “Proximate Internet” by connecting devices directly at the edge of the network.

M87 just announced a $5 million financing round led by Madrona Venture Group, with participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Trilogy Equity Partners. M87 plans to use the funds to hire engineering talent and scale the business on the resource side while getting ready for commercial release and finishing trials with partners, Brodman told FierceWirelessTech.

He declined to name any carriers but said M87 has done trials with operators both in the U.S. and internationally. The technology was developed by engineers at the University of Texas at Austin, but the company is relocating to the Seattle area.

M87 says that through its technology platform, devices create a “Proximate Internet”: a network of devices in the same physical area connected via the M87 technology. By connecting devices directly at the edge of the network, M87’s software creates a platform that significantly improves connectivity for phones in poor coverage areas.

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