DSL Hardware for Wiring Condos?

Condo-Netwerk asks: "I'm trying to prepare a proposal for my condo building to be our own DSL provider. With 160 units, we should be able to get a T1 and keep the price fairly low. But what's the up-front cost? Which hardware should we use? What do we need to know about Copper Mountain, Avidia, etc. to do our due diligence prior to selecting hardware? I'm also helping a friend spec cabling for a new 30-unit condo building he's putting up; he wants to pull cat5 and split a DSL line from the phone room to each unit. Caveats? Experiences? Is it better to use cat6 or fiber?"

Comments

Why DSL?

[jackjumper]

Go wireless!

I looked at this about a year ago...

[eric2hill]

The costs involved with the hardware (tut systems) was pretty substantial. The owner of the property whent ahead with a MUCH simpler plan (I recommended) of putting a simple 24-port switch in the basement of each dwelling (24 room units) and daisy-chaining the switches together with 100MB fiber. We had to run CAT5 to each unit, but the costs of that (less than $100/drop) were cheaper than a TUT Systems client device (around $165) for each unit. In the end, we had one switch plugged into an upstream carrier. Turning on or off the units' internet access was as easy as telnetting to the switch and shutting down the port.

The 100MB was MORE than enough for the 1.5MB internet pipe, and as an added bonus the dwellings could game with each other on a true 100MB LAN!

Thing of the bigger picture

[isotope23]

Run cat5 if possible. Before you do that, I assume the condos have cat3 for phone? If so, how are they wired? It could be possible to use the existing cable to run on a 10 meg backbone, dirt cheap.

You also need to think of other possible options.
A big one, Voice over IP. With a 100 meg backbone in place, you could replace all the traditional phone service as well as providing internet.
(some legal issues here to look at though).

I'd implement it as follows :

1. Do a SURVEY of interested tenants. Include VOIP as an option.
2. check Cat3 option, use it if possible.
3. Get some .11b wifi points for quick setup, rollouts to early adopters, and as backup gear
when something fails... (it would really depend on how many IDF's you are going to place)
4. Plan your IDF locations carefully. Remember environmental and power factors.
5. Use the WIFI AP's to go from IDF to MDF on a temporary basis until you can rollout a fiber backbone.
6. Monitor and then put Rate-limiting into effect for the people who abuse the service, i.e. mp3's and warez out to the outside world.
7. Make clear service terms so the users know what to expect and what not to do.
8. Someone will have to monitor/troubleshoot this service. If you don't have someone, an option would be contract out with a Local ISP, or
perhaps a local computer consultant.

Finally, for those not interested in paying a monthly fee, offer LAN access for free, (to get them hooked as it were)

Without knowing more details the above is all I can give you. Hope it works out!