🔒Investment will fuel Tilson’s rollout of 5G networks

Portland-based Tilson will be in a stronger position to offer its national client base a wider range of products, from 5G rollouts to cutting-edge “internet of things” technology services — thanks to a recent investment of $100 million.

CEO Joshua Broder said in addition to the investment, by SDC Capital Partners LLC, Tilson will have a partner with broad experience in the field.

“We are thrilled to welcome SDC as an investor and partner,” Broder said in a press release. “SDC brings a wealth of experience in building and growing platforms and we share a long-term strategic vision as we scale to meet the exploding market demand for small cell infrastructure development. With SDC’s support, we are in an even stronger position to serve the wide-ranging needs of our clients from national 5G rollouts to cutting-edge ‘internet of things’ technology services.”

The influx of capital will support Tilson’s expansion by both driving its continued growth of nationwide network infrastructure design-build services and enabling the spin-out and capitalization of Tilson’s asset ownership affiliate, SQF LLC.

5G stands for fifth-generation cellular wireless and the initial standards for it were set at the end of 2017. Those standards are expected to lead to 5G cellular networks capable of moving more data at greater speeds as well as being able to connect a lot more devices at once.

SQF maintains authority to own and develop telecommunications assets in public rights-of-way throughout the United States and is a leading pole owner and solutions provider for 5G service. It provides customers with a range of infrastructure options, from single site design-build services to fully outsourced deployment and management nationwide.

Todd Aaron, SDC’s managing partner, credited Broder’s leadership and Tilson’s “industry-wide reputation” for being at the forefront of emerging capabilities and technologies.

Winner of UMaine entrepreneur contest nets $15K

An aquaculture company using innovation to farm oysters is among the winners of the 2019 UMaine Business Challenge Solutions at the University of Maine in Orono.

Maxwell Burtis, a UMaine mechanical engineering freshman and founder of the aquaculture company Ferda Farms LLC, won both the first-place prize of $5,000 and the $10,000 innovation prize. Burtis is working on a technology that will reinvent the traditional hopper used during the oyster harvesting process. Other members of his team include Chris Burtis, Sam Dorval, and Max Friedman, along with advisors from the UMaine Foster Center for Student Innovation, the Maine School of Marine Sciences, the Maine Sea Grant and Mere Point Oyster Co.

“These prizes are huge for the expansion of our oyster farm and continued innovation along Maine’s coast,” said Burtis. “The competition is giving Ferda Farms the opportunity we have long dreamed of, to buy more cages, quahog seed and solar panels, allowing us to continue to improve Maine’s waters, and revitalize Maine’s changing fisheries with aquaculture.”

The second-place prize, of $1,000, went to Isabel Colby College sophomores Adler and Lily Hogan for Ruggette, which produces outdoor gear for women.

Business Lending Solutions, the event’s sponsor, awarded a total of $16,000 in cash and prizes to collegiate entrepreneurs in the annual pitch contest. The $10,000 Innovations Prize is sponsored by UMaine alumni Bruce Fournier and the Fournier Family Foundation. In eight years of contests, UMaine Business Challenge has awarded over $100,000 to more than 20 college students.