Wireless Broadband?

[Jkayo]

My local ISP was to provide DSL to my area but due to 'strict limitations' they cant. So instead they will be offering wireless access that 'will be comparable to DSL in price and performance'.It will be available as soon as they are done testing. Does anyone have something like this in their area? and what info do u have on it

[wyvrn]

I think I have seen this offered in "rural" areas, it is based on microwave transmissions like the wireless TV deal. Hey if it works and it is comparibly priced, go for it!

[Mungla]

It is exactly as wyvrn put it. The transmitions are normally made at or around the 2 gigahertz freq and I know you can get cheaper transceivers that will do around 5-10 megabits for about the same price as a DSL box. The only problem with this setup, you guessed it, you have to put up a 2' dish. This is great for people like me who like in Oklahoma, we just put a dish up ontop of our house and we got broadband.

[brandon184]

Yup.. My friend has it.

I *think* it works with microwave signals, and you have to be within 10km of the central office.

The fairly sized antenna on his roof, makes his house look like its stuck in 1982... LMAO.

- Brandon

[thekingofpain]

No no no, its satelite access not microwave, aint it???

[BFlurie]

Yes, it is satellite -- the dish points @ a geo-stationary satellite toward the south (in the northern hemisphere). I don't know what the radio frequency is, but the small size of the dish says the wavelength has to be small, like microwaves.

[barry glisson]

It can be either satelite microwave or land based microwave. Eitherway you must have line of sight to the transmiter. Land based mw is being used in the Orlando area for t.v. in a cable like format.I don't know if internet is packaged with it or not. barry

[Missing the point]

If it IS Sattelite, then ya gotta have a Phone line Upload, which really sucks!

[JonmaTifa]

Wait a minute... I don't think this microwave broadband and satilite internet are the same. Yes satilite internet sucks because you have to upload over the phone line, but I think with the microwave, you can both recive and transmit over the dish, so you get a full duplex system working...

[thekingofpain]

There is a company that has the phone upload and a certain amount of "turbo" hours you can use per month (I think its called DirecPC), the new system is entirely satellite, its in use in a few states already, Arizona for one, same cost and speed as dsl/cable using a small dish...



[This message has been edited by thekingofpain (edited 08-14-2000).]

[Mungla]

Internet over satellite RF from your house SUCKS. You can download at blazing speeds, but you have to use your land line to upload. So basically, when you request a website to look at, your modem sends this information to the ground station several states away, they then upload this information to the satellite for you. It get's very complicated; and it is extremely expensive. Each one of these satellites can cost at a minimum of $200 million to build and launch into space.

Land-base Microwave RF is exactly like it sounds. Ever see cell sites with the big dishes on the side of them? Those are microwaves. Basically, your internet based microwave is the same thing except different frequencies, wattage, and size. Depending on how much you want to spend on equipment, you can operate up to 40mi away; microwave freq get to the point of uselessness at 40mi. Normally, the 2' dishes you attach to your house for internet microwave can operate up to 10mi typically; depending on weather conditions, solar flares, ex. This method of internet access has not yet caught on in the main stream; basically it's like ISDN was 2 years ago. I would only except this service to be provided in rural areas due to it's long distances.

[desmocat]

here is a link to the providers website:
www.gilat2home.com (http://www.gilat2home.com)
It is two way VSAT comm, based on the same freq as DSS(Ku band @ around 12Ghz) no land line for uplink, everything goes thru the dish. I can see some probs with the system when joe average tries to aquire a lock on the satellite and can't quite seem to get it right. Also,it will probably suffer the same as DSS due to rain fade, mis-alignment after major wind storms, signal block from foilage,blah,blah,blah.(oh yeah, can you say lightning bolt,meet Mr nic card! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif )
I put my own DSS in and It can be a pain trying to aim the dish at times, and I have the sony system that has the blinking LED on the LNB to help. It says that it will be able to receive echostar (dish network)signals as well when it is rolled out later this fall.

[SysOpt]

That may or may not be what your ISP is referring to. I know for a fact that WorldCom and other companies are testing a new 802.11b based, or similar, wireless broadband service with a range of 2,500ft or so from transmission towers - it doesn't require a special dish, just a wireless LAN card in your PC or laptop.

[bkehoe]

Here in Ireland we have a microwave land tv system in most of the country. In November they're going to launch the internet service, which doesn't require a phone line. I currently use satellite internet (many times better than the **** in the US - defend if if you want, but direcpc doesn't compare to the european offerings - 2MBit, no bandiwdth limit, free tv channels from the ISP that are normally pay for, $15/month an open universal standard, allowing competitors, and cards can also get the digital TV, free and pay for).

Here normal satellite dishes are 60 - 80cm in diameter, and the microwave (MMDS) is a square with a 'bowl' in the middle and the LNB sticking out from the middle, around 75cm side.

Brendan


[This message has been edited by bkehoe (edited 08-14-2000).]

[desmocat]

Scott, What you were talking about is what I think my ISP is going to use in the near future. I asked the owner if he was getting into the dish stuff and he said no, it was something diffrent.

I had a conversation with a friend who owns a business that my ISP is the host for their homepage and my friend said the same thing you did, no dish/just a small antenna that didn't have to be aimed.(omni-directional).
I thought he was confused, but I guess not.
He also talked about the high bandwidth with this setup.
On another topic, his IP class address went from a 210.xxx.xxx.xxx to a 63.xxx.xxx.xxx, I thought all the class "A" addys were taken?? Would he have to buy one from someone else to get the one he has now?

One benefit of the change is now I am one hop away from the main UUNET ATM trunk in Dallas. I have noticed a change for the better in that my download speed and ping times have greatly improved since the move. Mp

[Jkayo]

All of this stuff seems awful complicated and expensive for just a little ISP. I live in a fairly small city 10k people, and the ISP is in a very small town down the road. www.icontech.com (http://www.icontech.com)

[jacobnero8196]

They do have fiber optics in california which cost $1500 to install and $100 a month. I know that's expensive but you get speeds blazing at 270 giga bits!!!!!!! And no that's not a typo, I believe that is faster than anywhere in the world including the Irish satellite system.

[dgardner]

I'd just like to say you lot suck, I live in my little rural area where we get jack sh*t in the way of fast Internet connections. We only got the possibility of ISDN about a year ago and thats so expensive its not worth considering. The only thing I've got to comfort myself is that now I have completly free phone calls via my 56K modem to the net, so while you guys out there are paying whatever for you DSL connection to the net I have permernat connection to but its slow and free!!!!

Anyone want to trade??

~Dave~

[brandon184]

Yeah.. There are services which offer wireless services (not satellite).. The dish-type reciever you put on your roof is sort of a retro looking TV antenna, something you'd see out at a cottage or something.

It needs a clear line of site to the central office, it can also not be farther than 10KM away.

- Brandon