Starry Group Holdings

Even before the pandemic, when at-home internet proved itself to be the lifeline for work, school, and generally maintaining human relationships, Chet Kanojia considered broadband to be a critical utility—one that should be high-quality and affordable for all. But the economics of the business don’t create much incentive for big cable and telecom companies to reach lower-income households. So in 2015, the engineer and serial entrepreneur founded Starry to make it so. That meant spending years developing new technology that makes the service easier and cheaper to deploy. Starry’s fixed wireless devices sit atop towers and rooftops; no need to tear up sidewalks and lay fiber, which costs 100 times more by the company’s estimation. The company now offers high-speed broadband in six major metropolitan areas, covering a service area of more than 5 million households. In the rollout of its low-cost broadband—priced at $15 a month—Starry puts special effort into reaching those whom other companies don’t by focusing on public and affordable housing and forgoing credit checks that often lock people out. Starry’s model is winning subscribers; the company says uptake increased in all of its markets in the second quarter, with customer relationships up 70% over the previous year. It also says 60% of its 81,000 customers have defected from cable companies. “Most providers have an affordable program,” says Kanojia, who adds that Starry’s difference is: “We don’t marginalize the quality of the product.”