Tower Cloud, Inc., a leading wireless backhaul services provider, announced today the close of a $17 million round of equity to fund its continued expansion throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama.

The latest round of funding was led by a new investor, the Florida Opportunity Fund.

"Tower Cloud is a great fit with the Florida Opportunity Fund investment mission. The St. Petersburg-based company's next generation wireless backhaul networks create high-tech Florida jobs while expanding communication infrastructure that allows for enhanced productivity in our State" said Jennifer Dunham, program manager. "We expect continued high growth at Tower Cloud as the demand for wireless broadband service continues to explode."

This funding follows a $49 million equity commitment by the same investor group in 2011. Tower Cloud's other existing institutional investors include: Sutter Hill Ventures, El Dorado Ventures, The Burton Partnership, Knology Inc., The Florida Growth Fund, Ballast Point Ventures, Kinetic Ventures, ITC Partners Fund, Noro-Moseley Partners and CLR Partners.

"We are grateful for the strong partnership we have with our investors," said Thomas Guard, CFO of Tower Cloud. "We welcome the Florida Opportunity Fund as a new investor and are thankful for the continued support from our existing investor syndicate. We believe continued equity support of this magnitude, in this economic environment, is a strong endorsement of our industry, team and opportunity."

The wireless backhaul market more than doubled last year while analysts forecast North American cellular-data usage will continue to grow over 70 percent per year through 2016. Tower Cloud is focused on providing solutions to wireless carriers' exploding data needs by building networks designed to meet tomorrow's forecasted capacity demand.

About Tower Cloud
Tower Cloud's fiber optic and wireless backhaul networks bring agility, predictability and reliability to wireless carriers. Leveraging pure Ethernet broadband technologies, Tower Cloud operates a fiber-focused network to backhaul voice, video and data from cell sites for wireless carriers. Tower Cloud presently operates backhaul networks in major markets throughout Georgia, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina and is building additional networks to support national and regional wireless carriers. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in St. Petersburg, FL. For more information visit http://www.towercloud.com.

About the Florida Opportunity Fund
The Florida Opportunity Fund (FOF) was established in 2007 to increase the availability of venture capital in Florida. The FOF actively invests in Florida-focused venture capital funds, infrastructure projects, and emerging Florida-focused companies within industries of strategic importance to the State, including: Energy, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Technology. The FOF is sponsored by Enterprise Florida and managed by Florida First Partners. For additional information regarding the FOF visit http://www.floridaopportunityfund.com.