Slashdot Mirror
Fido Launches New Broadband Wireless Access
bug-eyed monster writes "Fido is launching a new wireless internet service with 'Download at speeds of up to 2.2 Mbps,' in Richmond BC and Cumberland ON. It uses a special modem that plugs into a regular network card. The technology providers' websites, Microcell and Inukshuk, inform us that the service uses Multipoint Communications Systems (radio-based) in the 2500 MHz range. The modem can be used anywhere within Richmond and 'up to 2.5km away from any network base station' (no idea if it can also run on batteries). Of course, this is all torture for me since I live next-door in Vancouver, just out of reach of the network."
This won't satisfy most /. readers. The CAN$40 a monthly fee only covers 20 GB down and 5 GB up. Extra GBs cost CAN$10 each.
In the USA, we have one oddball cell company called Cricket that offers unlimited local calls and a decent rate for long distance. The problem is that roaming isn't available from these guys at any price... stray outside of your home zone and the phone simply doesn't work. They only exist in spotty metro areas, nowhere close to coast-to-coast availabity.
They're called mesh networks. The real problem, I think, is routing stuff over bigger areas. The lag could get horendous.
The other options available in the area are DSL from Telus, and Cable from Shaw. Both offer decent service. Telus's service is not as fast as Shaw's, but their network usage policies are more lax (they allow the use of servers and such, while shaw frowns upon them)
Telus bought Clearnet a few years ago. Fido ran into bankruptcy problems a while back and many expected them to be bought out, but they seem to be recovering.
I've been with them for a long time... maybe 6+ years, very soon after they started offering service. I can't recall the last time I had a connection dropped or a network busy message.
>> Of course, this is all torture for me since I live next-door in Vancouver, just out of reach of the network."
Two Words...
Names, actually...
Yagi - Uda
Many years ago, these two Nipponese rf engineers designed a nifty, easy to build yourself, high gain antenna, that at the frequencies you need, is quite a small package.
You see them all over, they look like sideways, one dimensional xmas trees. They are made in many sizes, for different frequencies.
They are however, mostly line of sight, with increasing signal attenuation (crappier signal) if the path is blocked by anything, like mountians, buildings, big trees, etc..
Don't give up hope. Experiment a little, and see if you can't connect to their network.
You may even be able to find a techy inside the company, who is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty, and help you out, over time, to see if you can make the connection.
Don't give up, go for it!
"Relatively?" More like it is entirely flat. The only hills you'll find are when you're hitting the tunnel, an overpass on the 99 or 91, or the five bridges that go into the city.
The reason why Microcell is introducing the service into the area is partly due to the fact that the majority of Richmond's population is west of Highway 99, which means the population is relatively dense. In fact, the majority of the population sits around Richmond Centre, which isn't really all that large of an area when you look at it.
GPRS has a latency that's just high enough to prevent voice over IP. FIdo is no exception. This appears to be some sort of 802.11 concoction that operates on a higher frequency range much like fatport or the other wireless providers out there.
For all of you out there that are feeling depressed because you are just out of range of this new service, forget about it.
Look Communications is a wireless tv and internet company (well at least they try) in the Toronto and Montreal areas that are currently using this technology to provide their services and it dam near put em out of business.
From past experience, you are not missing anything. The service is based on line of sight so if there is so much as a tree between your antenna and the CN Tower... sorry, no dice.
llid j-
These kinds of service are not even close to being new. There is a service here locally that has wireless internet, and they have been operating for the past three years. Why is slashdot covering a press release from an ISP web page anyway? Mod me down, troll, but its been my experience that these pages/ads are 90% hype , 5% marketing, and 5% service agreement. The only thing somewhat interesting about this is that this is non-directional, and the local service in my town just rolled out non-directional modems only six months ago. On second though, not very interesting at all. Move along, nothing to see here.
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
If you are in the state of Virginia, USA. There is a 3 MBit wireless host called:
http://www.r-comm.net/
They are friendly fellas and their rates are comparable with DSL pricing. Nice if you are out in the sticks.
MMDS is Multipoint Microwave Distribution System. The system uses RF spectrum between 2500 and 2700 MHz and if I recall correctly is required by the terms of the license to use only horizontal polarization.
The radio physics behind it are exactly the same as an 802.11b network - line of site required, free space loss, etc are all very similar.
The MAC layer is designed for access rather than wireless lan so it'll act much better than an 802.11b cell - think 802.11b with Karlnet or Alvarion Breeze Access II.
MMDS licenses exist all over the United States and in my particular state some loser telco (now in chapter 11) bought the rights for *one dollar* and never did anything with it.
The equipment is pricey, the odds of it dropping are pretty low because there isn't volume production, and it'll have the same behavior problems as 802.11b minus the dueling operators issues. Don't hold your breath for it coming to your area and it'll be a slave to IP bandwidth economics just like any other distribution medium. You can read up on IP bandwidth economics in my journal since I am not posting that junk again.
Slashdot covers wireless issues the way Seventeen magazine covers boy bands. A teeny, tiny bit of scepticism would go a loooooooong way.
I am very easy to get along with, but I don't have time to waste being nice to people who are being stupid. -Theo
Been with Fido in Winnipeg for some time now, as has a friend of mine at work, and neither of us have any complaints with the service. Albeit, Winnipeg is a smaller metro area than the Vancouver or Toronto areas...
jaraxle