For Fatbeam, it all starts with education.

The fiber-based service provider helps school districts leverage E-Rate to build fiber-based wide area networks, and then it expands out to the rest of the community from there, and also leases that dark fiber and sells lit Ethernet services on those networks to other service providers, explains Gregory Green, founder and president.

Fatbeam, which is owned by Green and his partner, Shawn Swanby, operates third- and fourth-tier markets in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions. Today, Fatbeam operates in 19 markets and has 17 school district sites. The company uses a combination of direct sales and value-added reseller partnerships for its go-to-market strategy.

Green, who met with TMCnet earlier this week at COMPTEL (News - Alert) PLUS in Las Vegas, tells us that Fatbeam is looking at a couple of acquisitions that would double the size of the company in terms of revenues and EBITDA. He says these deals are of companies in Fatbeam’s existing geography, but would strengthen the number of cities and position in its those markets.

"Fatbeam's mission is to provide high-speed Internet connectivity to more rural areas and in doing so enhancing education opportunities, delivering greater public safety, and driving economic growth while also maintaining profitability in the process," Green said in October when the company announced it had generated triple-digit growth year-over-year since launching in 2010. "It's a great feeling to bring such opportunities to underserved markets while also running a business."