Wireless Update 3-12-03

Just to keep everyone updated on what's going on. Due to all the bad weather over the last few weeks just about everything on the install-side has been delayed. This week was actually the first week in almost a month that the ISP was able to make significant progress on installing their equipment and doing some real testing. We (the Web Committee) have not begun our part of the beta testing as of yet, but have been told it should be ready to begin in as soon as several days - so we're crossing our fingers on that.

More to come hopefully soon.

John
hornerjo@yahoo.com

 

John:

I am moving to the area soon. Can you tell me where I can find out more about the wireless program? Is it free?

Thanks,
Dave

 

We wish it was free! We have read about other HOAs deploying wireless for their members and having free access, but it's close to impossible to do this for the Broadlands. With so many hills and trees having 100% coverage is tricky. Even so, the HOA would have to approve funds to do so and the HOA doesn't want to be an ISP. So that brings us to working with other ISP (like currently with Allspeed.net). We're on their timetable and can only wait until they have things up and running.

No current news yet either, hopefully I'll have an update soon.

John

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Got Broadband?

 

Is there someplace to get more info on the Broadlands Broadband project? Such as time frames, required equipment, coverage areas, etc. We have purchased a house in the Broadlands and will be moving in in July/August and would definitely like to use this service if it's available. Thanks.

 

Well, unfortunately we have not gotten an update from Allspeed in a long time. We continually get new wireless ISPs emailing us (1 a month usually) - but at this point we will not be meeting with any of them or doing any types of partnering until some type of actual service begins. We are, however, providing them with information about what types of services were looking for and what we can provide to them at a later date for incentives to get something rolling. 90% of the time the WISP has such rediculous prices and services that they would be lucky if 10 people signed up, rather than supporting 3-400 hundred.

So right now the search for a wireless ISP is on pretty much on hold. For now the only options are:

- Adelphia 2-way cable (who is soon moving from 3000/128 to 2000/256) which is currently running about $53 if you dont have cable TV.
- IDSL (ISDN basically) 128/128 which runs anywhere from $99 - $200/mo
- Satellite, which I have no idea of the cost but I believe the speed is 2000/80 or so.

Also we're looking closely at emerging services from other major players:

Sprint is working on a product called 'XG'. It's basically a replacement for Sprint Broadband Direct. They had trials that completed last year and is currently beginning deployment (right now in Indianapolis so I hear). It's a NLOS (Non-Line of sight) product that (according to news releases) can hit 1.5Mb down and 768K up over a range of 3-8 miles without an external (rooftop) antenna. Navini is the product (http://www.navini.com) if you want to read a little about it. With Sprint having a tower right next to us with excellent coverage we're hopefull about having this here.

Verizon has recently completed trials of a wireless product that is also NLOS currenly called BFW (broadband fixed wireless). Verizon has licenced their own spectrum for this product, and speeds are expected to be between 768-1.5Mb (up to both ways I believe). Verizon expects (from a report by Brian Whitton - an exec for Verizon in this project) that service will begin by the end of this year. They will target areas not served by ADSL, which is us. A generic news report is here: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2003/tc20030421_9461_tc024.htm

Verizon also has another wireless project called 'EvDO'. From what I hear, anyhow, it's a different product than the above BFW. I don't know much yet about the range, but fixed speeds can hit 2.4MB. You can read more about it here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31065-2003Mar15.html

Broadband over powerline. We've heard reports (like this one http://www.forbes.com/global/2003/0120/050.html) that powerline broadband is beginning to come of age. Evidently trials are underway in Manassas.

Then we have tons of new types of technolgies, like mesh networks, new smart antennas, etc. So as always, hopefully soon(tm) we'll get something beyond Adelphia and IDSL.

John
(whew that was a lot of typing for what was going to be a quick response...)

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Got Broadband?

 

John,

What is the problem with Allspeed?



Regards,

The Evil Scientist

 

Your guess is as good as mine. I left another message for our contacts there to call me back. Plus their webpage is down and has been for some time (http://www.allspeed.net) so I don't know whats going on.

Edit: Ok here is the deal from the latest news I have gotten. I was able to talk with one of our contacts working on the wireless. Allspeed is out and another company is taking over. Evidently they will still be providing us service, but what kind / how much / etc I have no idea yet. As soon as I find more information I will post it here.

John

---------------
Got Broadband?

 

John,

Forgive me if this has already been discussed, but all the waiting and trouble that has gone into finding DSL or higher speeds for Broadlands North has led me back to this one question - Why was Broadlands North not setup to have the speed that Broadlands South is getting? We have been waiting for 2 years now for high speed, and it still is not here, yet Broadlands South has it right now. I am not trying to start anything, but it seems to me that Broadlands North was kind of left out in the cold in this. Do you know the reason why Broadlands North cannot get the high speed that Broadlands South has?

I have thought about this before, but when efforts were made to try and get the high speed for the north section, I waited, hoping that we would get high speed another way. Unfortunately, every plan seems to fall through and we keep waiting and waiting for high speed internet to come to our part of Broadlands. I guess all I can do now is wait some more with the answers you have provided above, but I can just see me waiting another 8 months just to find out that nothing is going to happen and high speed is still not available.

 

Yep, I sure do.

Broadlands North was designed at a time when FTTH (Fiber to the home that the Broadlands South has) was still just starting to come around.

Reason it has not been put in place in the north is that it's just too expensive to do it. Everything from easement problems to digging up peoples backyards creates major roadblocks.

Your next question is probably 'Why can't we get DSL?'
There is fiber topics running all around our neighborhood. We have copper to the houses, but fiber along the main streets. DSL cannot run over fiber. Best we can get 'phone-wise' is your normal modems and ISDN (or IDSL) because they run over the normal voice frequencies. In order to get DSL, Verizon would have to put whats called RDSLAMs out where the fiber ends and the copper begins. We estimated the in order for Verizon to serve the Broadlands (DSL has an effective limit of 15,000 feet) they would have to deploy 3-4 of these. It's just not cost effective for them to do so.

Next on the block is cable. We have Adelphia. Well, something is better than nothing - even if it's expensive and doesn't provide the features we need (like static IP addresses, ability to run home webservers, high speed uploading for telecommuters, etc).

So that leaves the open airwaves. 802.11b/g can travel for over 20 miles with clea line of sight and powerful directional antennas. But once you stick some trees and a hill or two in the way, and the signal is basically cut. It all depends on the types of trees and the equipment you use really. Some wireless ISPs have sucess sending a signal right through half a mile of total tress. 802.11b setups used to run 5-600s per CPE (customer premise equipment) just for the hardware, which would be the antenna, the radio, the cables, the mast, the connectors, the lighting protector, etc. Just within a year that has dropped down to less than half that amount with companies like Superpass and Smartbridges that are making all-in-one solutions.
http://www.superpass.com/SP-CPE-PH-13D.html
http://www.smartbridges.com/products/wireless/ab_total.php
Lowering the costs and making products like this is what attracts wireless ISPs. We just need to get one here that is stable enough to get something going. We had big hopes for Allspeed and are very dissapointed in this news today. Those guys *really* knew their stuff.

Anyhow, this is probably a little too much information for the reply. I could go on into things like sectorized smart antennas and such, but thats a topic for another day.

Beyond cable, our only real solution to get broadband is wireless. We have even gone as far as playing with some ideas for running a network ourselves and providing free access, but thats still in the discussion phase. If anyone wants to help or offer suggestions, please come to our next meeting (Tue May 13th, 7:00 ComCenter).

John

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Got Broadband?

 

Thanks John for such an informational reply!

I don't think you can ever get too much information concerning this topic. The more you know the better (of course that is not true in some circumstances, as it is best not to know some personal things about people).

Although, I am still disappointed that the North side is not getting the same access as the south, I appreciate you looking into all options for us. Thanks!