DSM-shaded relief of Dunedin, New Zealand. Photo: DigitalGlobe.

DigitalGlobe announced an agreement to provide elevation data to Rise Broadband, a fixed Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP), to enable faster and more efficient deployment of wireless internet services in the United States.

DigitalGlobe will provide Rise Broadband with Vricon’s high-resolution Digital Surface Model (DSM) data to verify fixed wireless broadband service availability to households and businesses in its market areas before sending installation teams into the field. According to Rise, the combination of Vricon’s elevation products and DigitalGlobe’s satellite imagery gives the company the ability to enhance the performance of its fixed wireless coverage prediction tools.

“Our customer service team will use the tools built around the high-resolution DSM to verify our ability to connect the customer to an access point on a nearby tower, eliminating a large amount of failed installation truck rolls,” said Damon Estep, senior vice president of technology for Rise Broadband. “By being one of the first fixed wireless internet service providers to embrace high-resolution surface elevation data, we will realize significant savings we can then apply to other parts of our business.”