US-based fixed wireless access (FWA) service provider Starry Internet halted expansion efforts and detailed a cull of around half its staff due to a funding shortfall.

In a preliminary Q3 earnings statement, CEO Chet Kanojia explained the moves aimed to conserve its working capital while maintaining its current position in the market.

“This is an extremely difficult economic climate and capital environment and at present we don’t have the capital to fund our rapid growth.”

“Because of that, we’re focusing our energies on our core business: serving multi-tenant buildings in our existing dense urban markets”.

The Boston Globe reported Starry Internet planned to layoff 508 employees. The company stated it had also halted new hires.

Starry Internet noted it recently pulled out of the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund programme. It had been allocated $269 million to cover 108,506 locations across nine US states as part of the scheme.

Despite the upheaval, Kanojia insisted Starry Internet remained “laser-focused on financing the business over the long-term” to maintain its existing services.

The company ended Q3 with 91,297 customers across seven markets, up 66 per cent year-on-year.