The company's failure did not reflect any weakness in the market for wireless Internet access through Wi-Fi technology, Hellebust said. In the Seattle area, the company's customers included bookseller Barnes and Noble and AT&T Wireless.
"(Cometa closing) is a reflection of a somewhat more demanding investment environment for Wi-Fi than it was a year and a half ago," Hellebust said.
The company, he insisted, proved that a wholesale business model for Wi-Fi could be successful, claiming that Cometa's network in the Seattle area had increasing subscriptions, usage and revenue.
While Cometa believes in Wi-Fi, analysts have said the market is unproved, given its youth. Despite the projected 57 percent annual increase in hotspots through 2007, deployments have been little more than the creation of a basic infrastructure, market researcher International Data Corp. said in report released last year. Success will depend on whether companies offering Wi-Fi services can attract and retain subscribers over the long term.
Cometa's original investors included AT&T, Intel Capital, IBM and investment firms Apax Partners and 3i.
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