Domain: wispa.org
Stories and comments across the archive that link to wispa.org.
Comments · 15
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Re:Network Neutrality is good, but Title II isn't.Actually small, startup ISP's are starting all the time. I regularly interact with providers throughout the US which are less than a year old (I sell products into this space).
Even locally, I'm aware of one which has started within my rather small community within the last couple of years years. There are also two older ones so there are now at least 3 different providers besides the telco and the cable company providing service to the area.
Another trade group which represents a large chunk of them has the other view regarding Title II.
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Re:So, a large-scale WISP?
Google Access may implement their own 3.5 GHz wireless internet service -or- they might partner with an existing wireless internet service provider (WISP). This approach leverages Google's end user presence and strengthens the WISP serving rural areas, small towns & cities, or the outskirts of a large metro area. It all fits. Google finances the deployment of the fiber backbone (this is the backhaul to an internet), a tower is erected (or leased or shared with a partner WISP), point to point links connect towers, and 3.5 GHz or 5 GHz radios link a tower to the end user business or residence. The end user bandwidth will be better than many end users receive now at a reasonable price. My AT&T dsl line is 5 MB down / 1.5 up for $58 a month for ONLY internet. A speed of 10MB to 50MB meets all my needs; VOIP, video streaming, and gaming. Yes, more speed is great, but for home use, I don't need more. Time Warner offers 300 MB to my location, but not at a price I'm willing to accept. For those that have 1 GB for under $100 a month, consider yourself blessed. Clearwire had the right idea but deployed the wrong technology. Many customers in their homes or business often complained of poor signal quality. Wireless radio designs are far better than 10 years ago. Ubiquiti Networks is on the right path. https://www.ubnt.com/ They may, or may not, have the right mojo,
... but they are working on a piece of the problem. Read more here: http://www.wispa.org/ ...or here: http://www.wirelesscowboys.com... -
Crushing Small ISPs
I fear that the one size fits all approach from the antiquated Title 2 will cause undue regulatory burdens on small ISPs and WISPs that provide internet service to the areas not covered by the bigger companies. At the very least customers will see a rise in prices due to filing fees and Universal Service Fund tax. If it is implemented as it is now, there could be much more serious upstream interconnection fees. How many small businesses will be put out of business and how many rural customers will be left without service? http://www.wispa.org/news/2015...
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The industry association is a good place for info
see http://www.wispa.org/. I use a local WISP in western Iowa - they use grain elevators, water towers, hilltop poles, etc
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Become a WISPThere are a lot of us out there doing exactly what you're wanting to do, using fixed wireless technology typically from Cambium Networks, Ubiquiti, or Mikrotik.
Some links which will help you find people who are doing this already, and are more than willing to help you start down this path follows. Believe it or not, most operators in the WISP industry are pretty friendly and more than willing to help a new wisp get started with advice and the like.
www.wispa.org - The Industry Association for WISPS.
Animal Farm Users Group
Broadband Heroes Whitepaper
Wireless Cowboys BlogI'm sure there are others. I'd start by reading what I can, probably joining the (free) email lists on a couple of the sites above, and asking questions. Everyone in the industry was a newbie sometime, and most of us remember what it was like to start out, often with about as much knowledge as you have.
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Re:Free market!
There are a couple of ways to find a WISP. Most reputable WISPs are members of WISPA. WISPA search
The other way is to ask on DSLReports WISP section. DSL Reports WISP
Good Luck. -
Fixed-wireless ISPs?
Many people assume their options are "cable," "DSL," and "cell." In a lot of places, especially more rural ones, there's a fourth option: fixed-wireless/WISP service. WISPA, a trade association for fixed-wireless ISPs (think wi-fi with bigger antennas), would be glad to point you towards a local WISP. (Disclaimers: I used to work for a WISP for several years, and the WISPA Web site is fairly US-centric.)
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Re:So they are going to target...
That figures, my WISP I prioritize gaming traffic. Seems I'm always doing the opposite of the big telco/cable/sattelite outfits. I advertise honestly, don't take government bailout money, actually support my customers & do the exact opposite on my traffic shaping. Silly me... no wonder I'm still small time.. oh no wait I have over 2000 subscribers.
Hang in there, there are alternatives slowly seeping in http://wispa.org/, lets just hope the FCC handouts don't give all the money to companies that have no intention of offering more than just hotspot connectivity.
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CALEA doesn't let you tell
CALEA says that whomever owns the last leg, such as a hot spot, is responsible for being able to sniff packets at the feds request. If you can't it's a 10,000 a day fine until you can. You also can't turn off the hot spot because that's not following the big brother order. This doesn't fall back on the network provider, it's whomever runs that hot spot.
You also won't hear about this happening. You can't talk about any CALEA requests, that's also against the law.
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Here's one...
I found this. It's a product release announcement.
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WISPA
I'm sure the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA -- http://www.wispa.org/) will be an invaluable resource for you. If they don't have the answers you seek already, they probably will as soon as they become available.
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Working for a WISP...
Working for a WISP has been interesting (to say the least). We have to deal with direct competition from local cable/dsl providers, idiot customers who think it is "just like radio" (meaning AM/FM), and federal ISP regulations. But, there is a good community of WISPs who can definitely help to support each other. Part-15 is a great resource and so is WISPA.
Most of our customers are rural, we use 2.4GHz, 900MHz, and some of the 5GHz spectrum to provide service. Our rates are 1Mbps for $27.50/month, 2.5Mbps for $37.50/month, and 4Mbps for $45.95/month. We are cheaper than all of our competition (cable and dsl) and, have a much wider coverage area. One thing that a lot of our customers appreciate is that since we've never recieved money to help develople our network, thereare no taxes or extranious fees attached to the bill. We know when the cable company raises rate, we get an influx of people signing up for service.I actually know the guy who makes up the Western part of the Nebraska map. The company that I work for makes up most of the central spot.
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Reminds me of the various initiatives...
...several WISP-related organizations are pursuing w/ the FCC regarding the devotion of certain spectrum slices specifically for broadband usage. Sure, there are LMDS and MMDS pieces of spectrum available but at, easily, several hundreds of thousands of dollars, these licenses aren't usually readily available to the typical wireless ISP.
Check out WISPA for one group's involvement.
I guess we'll see. :-)
Regards,
Kory -
The obvious solution.
Start a Wireless ISP company for your neighborhood. Get a T1, mount a parabolic antenna on the roof, find enough customers in your neighborhood to break even, and set your own rules.
http://www.wispa.org/
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Wireless Internet is nothing new
Tons of small ISP's have turned to fixed wireless using DSSS or FHSS 802.11b as a way to route around their local telephone companies and the cable monopolies. Most people will tell you that wireless service is better than DSL and Cable. The only limitations with it really are interference in highly suburban areas and line-of-sight. But even in heavily populated areas FHSS is pretty reliable.
The most popular mailing list for these types of small wireless ISP's is here:
http://isp-lists.isp-planet.com/isp-wireless/archi ves/
An organization created by alot of these wireless ISP is here:
http://www.wispa.org/
and you can find wireless ISP's in your area here:
http://www.bbwexchange.com/wisps/ Some of these WISP's have thier systems attached to Grain towers with their equipment covered in bird shit, but they're doing somethings the big boys aren't, like making money.