Is this a ok deal?????

[n1wbd]

Finally after many years of no broadband availability here in Grafton,NH a company called Wavecomm says they are going to be offering wireless internet service in about a month.

Here's the deal what do you think??.....

$99 setup/install fee for antenna and modem
Speed for basic residential service 768k down 256k up

If paying for a year it figures out to be $39.95/mo
If paying monthly $49.95/mo

I really don't think this is much of a deal but satellite ISP service is almost the same.

So what do you folks think?

Bob

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Not a bad deal at $39.95 a month considering there is nothing else available to you.

Satellite (WildBlue) might be around the same though for faster speeds. So do take a look around.

 

[oldford]

That's what the local WISP charges here.

WISP is almost always a less expensive choice than Satellite. The WISPs in this area don't have FAP and the latency is not there,which are good points depending on your use habits.

I still sell plenty of Starband to folks who tried WISP and had a poor signal path, so hopefully you'll be in a good location.

Good Luck de W1EL

 

[n1wbd]

I have question what freq. does WISP operate on is it 900 or 2.4ghz?
The access point is supposedly going to be at the fire station which is less than 1/2 mile down the street from me. It'll be interesting to see what kind of antenna they'll use either a omni-directional or a flat panel antenna.

Whats the current deal for Starband these days? I have'nt heard much about them lately.

That's what the local WISP charges here.

WISP is almost always a less expensive choice than Satellite. The WISPs in this area don't have FAP and the latency is not there,which are good points depending on your use habits.

I still sell plenty of Starband to folks who tried WISP and had a poor signal path, so hopefully you'll be in a good location.

Good Luck de W1EL

 

[oldford]

The antennas they use here look like 2.4 gHz. I see mostly panels now, used to see long yagis, but they seem to be going away.

Starband is selling hardware now for $99.99 plus shipping ($35).

Install is up to the dealer. NH is a little far for me.

Plans start at $49.99 up to $99.99.

Take a look at their website - www.starband.com

If you need more info, PM or e-mail me.

73, Eric

 

[iwc5893]

I have question what freq. does WISP operate on is it 900 or 2.4ghz?
The access point is supposedly going to be at the fire station which is less than 1/2 mile down the street from me. It'll be interesting to see what kind of antenna they'll use either a omni-directional or a flat panel antenna.

Whats the current deal for Starband these days? I have'nt heard much about them lately.

Depends upon if they're using licensed or unlicensed frequencies. For example, we use unlicensed frequencies (most common) in the 900MHz, 2.4GHz, 5.2GHz, and 5.7GHz bands. Depending upon the hardware, frequency, and range, we can do as much as 7Mbps down and 3Mbps up.

 

[n1wbd]

These are NOT hack questions just curious to how these wireless ISP systems work.

Can anyone tell me what kind of modems these wireless ISP's use? Are they similar to what cable co's use? (DOCSIS 2.0 and 3.0)

Also what determines what the max speed a customer is allowed is it set on the server/access point end or is it set on the modem?

Bob

Depends upon if they're using licensed or unlicensed frequencies. For example, we use unlicensed frequencies (most common) in the 900MHz, 2.4GHz, 5.2GHz, and 5.7GHz bands. Depending upon the hardware, frequency, and range, we can do as much as 7Mbps down and 3Mbps up.

 

[bradleys]

n1wbd,

In Blaine, we have a WISP which charges $99 per month and $349 setup. They provide 1 Mbps service in both directions. So, your price is reasonable.

I'd give up my $89 HughesNet service (1.6 down, don't remember up) in a second, if I could get line of sight for the WISP. I've had HughesNet and Xplornet (Canada) satelllite services. They're worse than any kind of connection except for ISDN and dialup (and ordinary wireless in a noisy environment). Downloads aren't too bad, because the data is streaming. For interactive and modern "busy" web pages with lots of cross-links, all the DNS lookups and page fetching, it's really slow and choppy.

This particular WISP uses licensed frequencies, so interference from other services should be reduced. Be careful if your provider uses unlicensed frequencies. I had a provider in Seattle for a while which used standard, farmer, ordinary wireless. It was completely unsatisfactory due to interference. I could walk around my neighborhood in Seattle and in a one block radius I found over 100 WAPs. That's probably not going to be a problem for you, since you're in a small town.

As far as your question about the equipment and settings, I can't speak from experience, since I haven't installed the WISP service yet. However, when I was talking to the provider, they made it very clear that all the equipment belonged to them, and there were no user-available settings. Their "terms of service" mention that service can be disconnected remotely by them. So, clearly they have a way to send a "kill" command to the remote modem.

As previously mentioned in this thread, line of sight is a big problem, since you're looking at a tower instead of a satellite. I'm probably going to have to put up a 50-100 foot tower to see over all the trees in my area.

Don't assume that the provider has no FAP or download limits. Read their terms of service carefully.

HTH

 

[iwc5893]

These are NOT hack questions just curious to how these wireless ISP systems work.

Can anyone tell me what kind of modems these wireless ISP's use? Are they similar to what cable co's use? (DOCSIS 2.0 and 3.0)

Also what determines what the max speed a customer is allowed is it set on the server/access point end or is it set on the modem?

Bob

The WISP's work on the principle of Point to Multi Point(PTMP), line of sight microwave transmissions. Some WISP's use a device similar to a modem, and some don't...it really depends upon the hardware they use to make the PTMP link. For example, we use Motorola Canopy Subscriber Modules (SM) that we put up on the customer's house. From that SM, we run a Cat5E cable directly to the customer's router or computer via a power injector which means we don't use a modem type device at all. The vast majority of ISP's determine your max speed by how much you are willing to pay them per month. Using my company as an example, we hard set the customer's speed in the SM along with using a server in our NOC that manages the customer's bandwidth. The customer does not have access to the settings in the SM, and if we find a customer that has changed their settings without authorization then we disconnect their service.

 

[iwc5893]

n1wbd,

In Blaine, we have a WISP which charges $99 per month and $349 setup. They provide 1 Mbps service in both directions. So, your price is reasonable.

I'd give up my $89 HughesNet service (1.6 down, don't remember up) in a second, if I could get line of sight for the WISP. I've had HughesNet and Xplornet (Canada) satelllite services. They're worse than any kind of connection except for ISDN and dialup (and ordinary wireless in a noisy environment). Downloads aren't too bad, because the data is streaming. For interactive and modern "busy" web pages with lots of cross-links, all the DNS lookups and page fetching, it's really slow and choppy.

This particular WISP uses licensed frequencies, so interference from other services should be reduced. Be careful if your provider uses unlicensed frequencies. I had a provider in Seattle for a while which used standard, farmer, ordinary wireless. It was completely unsatisfactory due to interference. I could walk around my neighborhood in Seattle and in a one block radius I found over 100 WAPs. That's probably not going to be a problem for you, since you're in a small town.

As far as your question about the equipment and settings, I can't speak from experience, since I haven't installed the WISP service yet. However, when I was talking to the provider, they made it very clear that all the equipment belonged to them, and there were no user-available settings. Their "terms of service" mention that service can be disconnected remotely by them. So, clearly they have a way to send a "kill" command to the remote modem.

As previously mentioned in this thread, line of sight is a big problem, since you're looking at a tower instead of a satellite. I'm probably going to have to put up a 50-100 foot tower to see over all the trees in my area.

Don't assume that the provider has no FAP or download limits. Read their terms of service carefully.

HTH

Good point about the FAP's. I keep forgetting that some WISP's and ISP's besides the satellite companies have them because we don't. Our philosophy is that your paying for the service for 24/7, then you can use it 24/7.

 

[n1wbd]

Thanks for the info. I was just curious. I hope my trees are'nt a problem if I decide to have it put in. Altho the proposed tower is less than a 1/2 mile away.

The WISP's work on the principle of Point to Multi Point(PTMP), line of sight microwave transmissions. Some WISP's use a device similar to a modem, and some don't...it really depends upon the hardware they use to make the PTMP link. For example, we use Motorola Canopy Subscriber Modules (SM) that we put up on the customer's house. From that SM, we run a Cat5E cable directly to the customer's router or computer via a power injector which means we don't use a modem type device at all. The vast majority of ISP's determine your max speed by how much you are willing to pay them per month. Using my company as an example, we hard set the customer's speed in the SM along with using a server in our NOC that manages the customer's bandwidth. The customer does not have access to the settings in the SM, and if we find a customer that has changed their settings without authorization then we disconnect their service.

 

[iwc5893]

Thanks for the info. I was just curious. I hope my trees are'nt a problem if I decide to have it put in. Altho the proposed tower is less than a 1/2 mile away.

Depending upon a variety of factors, you may still be able to get a signal by blowing right through the trees.

Some of the things to take into consideration are:
1) Distance (closer is obviously better)
2) Type of trees and more importantly the type of leaves on the trees along with their overall health. For example, deciduous, broad leaf trees cause more signal problems then pine trees.
3) Quantity of trees (fewer = better)
4) Frequency that is in use (lower frequency means better penetration through foliage)

 

[Stargazer]

If it is less than half a mile away then maybe you can hop it to you from someone that you have line of site to in which can see the tower if 900 mhz will not do the trick on penetrating the trees. If it is only trees and not hillside causing an issue then you may be able to get some heighth to help overcome some of the tree trunks if signal is an issue. Heck, the 2.4 ghz may work if they are using that as well.

 

[bradleys]

n1wbd,

Check with your provider about the trees. They're the only ones who can say for sure.

My provider requires a "site survey" before they'll commit to service. They charge $85, which is included in the installation fee if one can get the service. They brought out a bucket truck and signal meters, and tried to find the signal at various locations in my yard.

Since your provider is a new company, maybe they'll do your site survey for free.