Broyles Among Investors Funding Virtual Satellite

Ten local venture capitalists, including University of Arkansas Athletic Director J. Frank Broyles, have provided $3 million in initial funding for Virtual Satellite Corp. in Fayetteville. The deal was finalized today.

Bob Friedman, director of the UA’s Genesis Technology Incubator and chairman and president of VSC, said the money will be used to develop, demonstrate and commercialize his virtual satellite system — a new technology that takes advantage of existing satellite resources and has major Internet and high-quality television applications

The venture group, called Northwest Investment Group LLC, also includes prominent developers Mark Marquess and Vic Evans. The two will join Broyles and Friedman on VSC’s board of directors.

“These investors really stepped forward to keep VSC in northwest Arkansas,” Friedman said. “They had a great enthusiasm to keep high-tech manufacturing and industry here. Without this group of 10 investors, I would have had to accept out-of-state offers that would have eventually caused VSC to move.”

Mitchell Williams Selig Gates & Woodyard PLLC of Little Rock coordinated the investment package. VSC’s two other board members are John McGuire, its chief financial officer and treasurer, and Bob Winkleman, vice-president of business development.

Mass production of Virtual Satellite’s hardware, which includes a 30-by-18-inch rectangular antenna and small, set-top box components, will take place in Fayetteville. Friedman said additional local possibilities exist for distribution, marketing and further research spinoffs. He said Virtual Satellite, headquartered on Lovers Lane in Fayetteville, should at its maturity have more than 10 million subscribers.

The next step, Friedman said, is to build the equipment necessary to demonstrate Virtual Satellite on a worldwide basis. The technology could debut as early as October at TelCom’s worldwide symposium in Geneva, Switzerland.

Friedman’s technology combines unused transponders on geostationary satellites are already in orbit to create higher power “virtual” satellites. The beauty of the Virtual Satellite is it requires only a fraction of the overhead of launching new satellites into space, which can cost $300 million and takes three to four years.

Satellite technology expert Richard Wunderlich, president of Electronic Systems Products Inc. in Atlanta, handles product development for communication giants Nortel Networks Corp., Lucent Technologies Inc., and AT&T. He has called Friedman’s invention “a slam dunk.”

Friedman was recently appointed as a UA research professor by Aicha Elshabini, dean of the university’s Engineering and Computer Science Department. His credentials include directing Ford Aerospace Corp., American Satellite Corp. and Telcom General Corp.