Elauwit was born to connect communities.
In 2002, the early stages of "all things connected" began to disrupt the print media business. That’s when Elauwit Founder Dan McDonough left legendary newspaper publisher Gannett Co. to start a local news business where everybody in the community got their newspaper each week, in their mailbox, at no charge.
This model of connecting local communities proved successful. While the industry was shrinking in the midst of a global recession, Elauwit was twice named to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in America. The company’s 20+ newspapers spanning New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina were winning awards for journalism while growing in value.
But this experience also sparked something else. As Elauwit worked to connect the members of communities with each other, telecom service was doing the same digitally. But the experience wasn't what it could be. We knew connecting communities was important work, but questioned why those doing it via the internet couldn’t find a formula to deliver quality service based on customer needs. As the proliferation of internet connectivity spread, Elauwit wanted to discover a better way to connect communities – combining both reliable service and unique customer experience.
Still true to its initial purpose, Elauwit used the 2008 acquisition of a small, regional Internet Service Provider in South Carolina to begin building a business around connecting multi-family communities. Elauwit’s focus at first was on the growing segment of purpose-built student housing. Providing internet access to this most demanding segment of the population (college students) was a great way for us to build expertise and an unparalleled model of customer experience.
Elauwit’s Networks business garnered investment from signature partners including a publicly traded real estate investment trust. And in August of 2018, Elauwit's Networks business was acquired by the best national player in the big WiFi game — Boingo.
In 2020, Elauwit forged a new path with new partners to bring these same experiences to commercial office space — empowering building owners to transform their properties into true platforms of growth for their tenants. The new company, Elauwit Connection, has the same DNA and commitment to excellent customer experiences.
While the landscape has changed, our founding purpose to connect communities has remained firm. As data networks allow more ways for communities to remain connected in ways yet to be explored, Elauwit’s clients rest assured that they have a partner positioned to ensure the best connection.