Fixed-Wireless: A Method
For Broadband Internet Access—page 2

Fixed wireless Q&A
Before you even consider adding fixed wireless broadband services to your Internet service portfolio you need to understand what it is, what it will do, and what it can not do.

Fixed wireless Internet access involves the use of inexpensive spread spectrum microwave transceivers know as Wireless LAN devices designed for bridging workstations together.

Usually, Wireless LAN gear provides an indoor coverage radius of about 600-feet—right out of the box. Just as the astronauts learned to get the most out of the Lunar Module (LEM) during the failed Apollo 13 mission, ISPs have learned how to get more out of Wireless LAN gear, in order to make it do things it was not originally designed to do.

With proper thought, research, and RF engineering principles applied to these simple Wireless LAN devices, customers as far as 20-miles away from your antenna have a chance to connect to broadband Internet access from your ISP.

Best of all, as long as you are operating within the unlicensed frequencies governed by the FCC, there are no Monthly Recurring Costs (MRC) whatsoever—paid to anyone!

For ISPs owners who have grown tired of being completely dependent on RBOCs to deliver high-speed services, fixed wireless feels liberating—if not downright intoxicating!

Fixed wireless fundamentals
There are a lot of questions being asked about fixed wireless Internet access. For example:

• How do I address Napster users and bandwidth hogs?
• How do I stop the potential theft of service?
• What if it snows real hard? And hundreds more ...

But there are several fundamental questions you need to answer out of the gate before you get into the nitty-gritty details of operating a fixed wireless Internet service.

• Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)?
• Or Direct Signal Spread Spectrum (DSSS)?
• Amp or un-amped?
• Brand A or brand B? And so on ...

So let's cut to the chase—there are no clear-cut rules or answers. As soon as one system seems to take form, some Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) somewhere does something unique to prove everyone is wrong about how the system should function.

So don't come to me, or any single resource, or a fixed wireless expert, and expect all the answers will be handed to you carved in stone. This "grass roots" ISP movement is an ongoing development and operators are reinventing fixed wireless networks even as you read this article. That being said, here are some of the general advantages and disadvantages to offering fixed wireless services.

Fixed wireless pros:

• No Bell—And therefore no associated RBOC MRCs. This means that one fixed wireless business customer paying $99 a month is equal to five $50 a month residential DSL customers with $20 monthly gross margins. Remember, we're talking in terms of revenues—not Wall Street's valuation of your fixed wireless service.
• Quick service delivery with your WISP in total control—not a third party. Believe it or not, I turned up access for a local customer today at T1-like speeds within 2 hours of his initial call to our company. His cost was $799 down and $99 a month. Compare that to weeks or even months waiting for DSL access.
• Fixed wireless is fast, unless oversold—just like any form of high-speed Internet service.
• Fixed wireless is cheap. In order to rofit from offering fixed wireless access, customer equipment must be affordable for users. Also, when it comes to building fixed wireless access points, the AP equipment is considerably less expensive than a single MAX or Total Control hub for a wire-based ISP.

Fixed wireless cons:

• Without media hype and capital backing from Wall Street enjoyed by other broadband service providers, WISPs rarely offer free CPE or free installation promotions like DSL or cable tend to promote. CPE and installation runs between $300 to $1,200 for most WISPs—depending on equipment costs, mounting options, and labor costs. Fixed wireless entry fees could be prohibitive for residential users.
• Fixed-wireless often employs equipment operating in the 2.4GHz-unlicensed Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) band. This block of spectrum is considered "trash" by most RF authorities. ISPs are very resourceful to make the space usable, which is noisy, limited in bandwidth, and must be shared. Amazing—we feel lucky to have it.
• Interference is produced by many sources, like your microwave oven, cordless phones, and rabbit-ear TV extension devices. One attribute of spread spectrum technology is its ability to deal with interference and still function to an acceptable degree. The worse offender is probably a busy wireless competitor also operating outdoors and using amps on the same unlicensed frequencies.
• Scalability is not as easy as with telecom services. Fixed wireless systems require a carefully crafted plan to make sure than you do not overload your network. Remember, success can kill a good Internet service if you're not prepared to scale a system. The days of signing up 30 new dialup accounts in one day is not feasible for most WISP's.

Fixed-Wireless: A Method For Broadband Internet Access

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