A pop-up technology company headquartered along a small street in Bismarck (ND) is promising to revolutionize public safety communications for the state, yet its directors have declined to reveal their technology or funding sources in public documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Flow Mobile is among dozens of companies that have been formed to take advantage of spectrum profit opportunities. The company’s directors include Greg Rohde, former administrator of the NTIA and now executive director of the E9-1-1 Institute, retired U.S. Navy Admiral Bill Owens and several tech entrepreneurs. The company has briefed the FCC in-person on its plans, but it’s not clear if those confidential discussion included revealing how the company intends to use the 700 MHz band to create a 4G interoperabile network for the state of North Dakota, public safety agencies and other license holders. Behind the scenes, the connections between the company’s management and political lobbying firms are just as confusing as the technology the company intends to use.
Although Flow Mobile seems a singular entity, it’s tied to several other companies and groups, with many of the connections between the companies tied to Rohde–he is president of one, executive director of another, and executive director of a third.
Flow Mobile is in fact only a trade name used by the company New EA Inc. and registered with the North Dakota Secretary of State.
Rohde is one of six directors of New EA Inc., which is apparently an extension of Extend America, a company focused on “wireless high-speed Internet access service in select coverage areas,” according to the company’s Web site. Both companies are headquartered in the same one-story, cinder-block building. Extend America was formed in 2001 by a former North Dakota mayor, former Bismarck mayor and other state residents to bring broadband to rural regions of the state. Rohde, another North Dakotan, was tagged to advise the company. At one point, Nextel co-founder Morgan O’Brien was also a director for the company.
Rohde and another New EA Inc. director, Rich Kalgaard, both attended Century High School in Bismarck, and are members of the school’s Hall of Fame. Kalgaard is publisher of Forbes Magazine.
New EA Inc. was originally registered with the North Dakota secretary of state in Dec. 2007 with the nature, “Holding of assets to be used for business investment.”
According to the registration, the original New EA Inc. was “dissolved” on July 27, 2009. An identical registration was made in Oct. 2008 listing the company’s nature as, “mobile voice, video and data operator.” It’s not clear why the company’s changed their corporate registration.
The second corporate registration uses the address of 316 N. 5th St. in Bismarck, an office building filled with big companies and industry trade groups, apparently part of the state’s legislative lobbying efforts. Most national insurance companies have offices there, along with the Motion Picture Association of America, and the North Dakota Wholesale Liquor Dealers Assoc. The registration’s post office box matches that of Constance N. Hofland, a resgistered lobbyist at the 5th St. address.
Documents filed with the FCC by Flow Mobile reveal another Flow Mobile connection–the logo of e-Copernicus LLC appears on the letterhead used for a Flow Mobile filing. That company is a federally registered political lobbying company of which Rohde is president. The company’s clients (and 2008 income from them) include TruePosition ($180,000), NextWave Wireless ($45,000), ATX Group ($100,000) and Intrado ($15,000).
Rohde provides another connection for Flow Mobile. He is also executive director of the E9-1-1 Institute, which, “works in conjunction with the Congressional E9-1-1 Caucus to promote public education on E9-1-1 and emergency communications issues,” the group says. Its major partners are NENA, APCO, CTIA and NASNA. The group supports its missions to support the Congressional E9-1-1 Caucus and assist in promoting public education on E9-1-1 by, “serving as an information clearinghouse on E9-1-1 and emergency communications issues and creating a forum for policy discussions related to E9-1-1 and emergency communications that will benefit public policy development.” Officially, that means the company is lobbying Congress on behalf of its members.
Besides introducing 4G technology to the state of Dakota, Flow Mobile also filed a waiver petition with the FCC on July 7, 2009 to begin using 700 MHz frequencies that in 2007 Congress ordered by auctioned off to create a nationwide public safety network. No acceptable bids were received during last year’s auction, and the entire frequency allocation has been put on hold while the FCC considers what to do with the frequencies.
Besides Flow Mobile, 12 large cities and states filed similar waiver petitions. The FCC has requested comment on the petitions (pdf), and their decision is not expected soon.
Flow Mobile has already convinced North Dakota officials to participate in a field test of their technology. Mike Lynk, director of North Dakota State Radio, told a reporter that after the demonstration, “We’re hoping that…we will have a 700 MHz system throughout the state of North Dakota for public safety and the private sector.”
According to one report, Flow Mobile has briefed the FCC on an 11-state network of wireless broadband that it would create for $431 million.
Download (pdf) New EA Inc.’s comments to the NTIA about the broadband grant program.
This chart details the connections between Flow Mobile, Rohde
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