fiber-optic
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The Quiet Roll-Up Wiring Brazil's Interior, One Bought-Out ISP at a Time
A decade of acquisitions turned a scattered handful of small-town providers into Brazil's second-largest ISP in Sao Paulo state. Here is how Alares built a fiber network out of everyone else's leftovers.
Sail Internet
Sail Internet is a Santa Clara-based internet service provider that uses a hybrid of fiber and fixed-wireless technology to deliver high-speed, no-contract broadband to homes and businesses across the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley. Founded in 2015 by Stanford-trained broadband engineers, the company positions itself as a customer-first, net-neutral alternative to incumbent cable and telecom giants, reaching residences, multi-dwelling communities, and enterprises with gigabit-class connectivity that skips costly trench-and-dig infrastructure.
Vianet Communication
Vianet Communication is one of Nepal's leading internet and TV service providers. Founded in 1999, it pioneered fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) internet in the country in 2011 and launched one of Nepal's first IPTV services in 2016. Headquartered in Lalitpur, the company serves roughly 260,000 fiber customers across 24 cities, holds about 10% national market share as the third-largest ISP, and in 2023 launched Nepal's first 2 Gbps XGS-PON multi-gig internet service.
Stealth Communications
Stealth Communications is a New York City fiber-optic internet provider that has been quietly digging up Manhattan streets since 1995 to lay its own dark fiber, build its own routers, and sell ultrafast, dedicated business internet to enterprises, schools, broadcasters and government agencies.
Gagan Palrecha
Gagan Palrecha is a seasoned technology entrepreneur, executive, and investor with over two decades of experience spanning early internet infrastructure, consumer tech, blockchain, and fiber optic networking. Currently CEO of Stealth, a Los Angeles-based fiber internet provider that has raised $22.8M in funding, Gagan has held senior roles at Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Getaround, and NFTSTAR, while also serving as COO at RLY Network Association. A Y Combinator alumnus (2010) and General Partner at Palrecha Capital with 36+ portfolio companies, he brings an engineering foundation from Loudcloud - the legendary cloud infrastructure startup co-founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz - to every venture he touches.
Nathan Patrick
Nathan Patrick is the Chief Executive Officer of Sonic, a California-based fiber internet provider that has been challenging the telecom duopoly since 1994. A career network engineer turned executive, Patrick rose through the ranks to CTO before taking the helm as CEO in 2024. He won the 2016 FTTXcellence Award for his technical leadership and has spearheaded Sonic's aggressive expansion beyond its Bay Area roots into Oakland, Los Angeles, and Dallas - backed by the belief that fast, honest internet shouldn't be a luxury.
Todd Swanson
Todd Swanson is the Chief Executive Officer of Proficium, a Union City, California-based company specializing in high-performance optical transceivers, fiber optic cables, and connectivity solutions for hyperscale data centers and AI/ML clusters. With over 30 years in optical networking, he brings deep expertise from Finisar (where he rose to Co-CEO and COO) and Intel (where he led Silicon Photonics as VP/GM). Appointed in August 2024 following Proficium's acquisition by Mill Point Capital, Swanson is steering the company through the AI-driven data center connectivity boom.