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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."
I think FidoNet. And then I get sad.
"Now The People Will Know We Were Here."
Hah!
I never thought I would feel so lucky to be moving back to Richmond in two weeks!
You should check out http://www.awirelessgateway.com/
If you can't figure out my address, just drop me an e-mail and I will explain.
If you're desperate and the terrain will cooperate, perhaps build a cantenna(or buy one of those wire-dish highly directional antennas). You might have to open up the modem to get an external antenna installed...although the modem might be leased, making that a no-go option.
Please help metamoderate.
I'm more and more impressed with Fido as time goes on. For those of you who aren't on the West Coast of Canada, Fido's cell plan is something like $45 per month, unlimited local calls. I'm not sure what other cell plans are like in the US, but for Canada, Fido's the first to try anything like that... makes it easy to simply replace your landline with a cell for not much more $$.
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.
No restrictions in dense areas such as urban centers, since you could always route around a full AP, and free as in not having to pay some ISP by becoming you're very own.
I currently have the only AP for at least 4-5 blocks, it would be great if I had geeky neighbors who'd like to give it a try. I'm sure this idea is as old as dirt by now, but it was the first thing I thought of when I read this.
Also note that data transfer costs $10/gigabyte after the first 20GB (down) or 5GB (up) in a month.
Personally, I think it should be considered false advertising to advertise "up to" anything. Vendors should have to provide a guaranteed minimum.
No fair my ass. If what you meant by your comment is that those living in areas with a higher population density greater deserve the opportunity to participate in the trials then recognize that the point of this pilot is do the opposite.
:)
Case in point: Richmond is a sprawl of low-density housing comprised of [1-3] floor dwelling units and an almost perfectly flat topography. These qualities allow the first phase of the public trial to expose the benefits and shortcomings of the non-LOS system that iFido uses while not biting off a larger customer base than they can chew.
By doing the inverse (high population density, rolling topography) these companies would have a larger-than-they-can-handle trial customer base (given that anyone within the reach of the signal can sign up) and more urban jungle + rolling hills. That is not a recipe for getting the trial off the ground; indeed it is a recipe for a difficult trial that would most possibly end in failure. Further, if they allowed a limited number of participants, then that is plain bad customer relations for those who attempt to sign up but are rejected because the quota has already been met (customers are fickle creatures)...
Don't like it? Move!
I saw this -
$20 per month for the first 6 months (regular price: $40 per month)
and thought, damn that's really good for 2.2mbps down wireless internet, then I saw
Monthly transfer: up to 20 GB (download) and 5 GB (upload)
I wouldn't want any kind of internet that gives you limits. I don't know how often I'd use 20GB a month but I'm sure it's very often (lots of bittorent downloading, websites full of flash animations and streaming video, and even games.) If you play UT 2K3 for just 4 hours a day, 25 days a month (that's like coming home from school or work, and playing a few hours) that's around 2 gigs or 1/10th your total bandwidth, for something that uses hardly any bandwidth (around 5-6K/sec and remember there's also hundreds of mutators on like every server and then 10 meg maps.) And how's the upload speed? Latency? I dunno I like the idea of having a wireless ISP and it'd be really cool for a laptop, I don't think this should be uses as your main ISP alone.
The above sounds good, but I'm more worried about the small prints:
"The monthly price is for data transfer of up to 20 GB (download) and 5 GB (upload). A charge of $10 applies per additional GB per month. If you didn't opt for a 24-month Fido Agreement, you're eligible for a smaller discount and your service must remain activated for 90 consecutive days."
20GB/5GB should be enough for anyone really using it as a 2nd connection, but considering the price (40$/month after the 6th month), most people will want to use this as their primary connection and better watch out for extra charges (although people using cable might already be used to those transfer limits).
The whole package seems like a nice deal anyway, but I'm kind of worried about the saturation of frequencies these days...
There's no way they could provide coverage like this in an area with a lot of high-rises. The people on the far side of the building would have horrible reception. Imagine trying to cover an area like downtown Vancouver or Toronto?
1) If this takes off there certainly will be a compatible minicard for your laptop too.
2) Cheaper than paying your DSL, Starbucks, etc. Commuting, in the park, etc.
3) While stealing is a nice thing some of us don't have that advantage. We might want 2.2 Mbps throughput at a decent price. Last time I checked it was $500 set up fee including a stationary antenna, and $100 for that kind of throughput to my house. This is also MUCH cheaper than my $60 Cable 1 Mbps connection.
This would make for a very nice home server.
Is there anything better than clicking through Microsoft ads on Slashdot?
They're really a specialised use entry more than anything else. Because this service has a 20 GB download and 5 GB upload cap before you start paying through the nose for bandwidth, both cable and DSL broadband seem like a better deal.
You'd have to be quite a road warrior to need your broadband access to follow you all over town. Wouldn't it be easier to just rely on wired access being where you need it, and then putting it up with WiFi?
Lots of people are mentioning the 20/5 GB cap for this service and I was wondering if anybody has Telus DSL with their (insanely low, in my oppinion) cap of 5/1 GB cap. Do they ever come after you after that? I avoided them like the plague when I came to Alberta.
Has someone made a nice and convenient area map of the saturation you mentioned? I'd love to spend some time downtown with my laptop, but I don't have a clue where the hot spots are.
This is intended as a *REPLACEMENT* for your home broadband, not as a portable solution. The "portable" modem is about as big as your cable modem is. The pricing is about the same as Shaw or Telus. The portability of it is just an afterthought, and a nice touch if you want to move your computer around from one room to the next.
As for why you would want this, there are still lots of places in the GVRD where you can only get Telus OR Shaw or possibly neither, and if it turns out your Telus connection drops out several times a day (like ours at the office does), this is a viable alternative without Shaw telling you there's no cable to your building, but for $1000 they'd be happy to pull it there for you. Not like that's ever happened with me or anything...
On a side note, Verizon Wireless is rolling out CDMA2000 1X-EVDO throughout the US. Currently, Washington DC and San Diego are online. Service is $80 a month for unlimited. It runs 1-2mbps. Where there is no 1X-EVDO service, it drops back to 1X-RTT (~60kbps).
OT:
Anyone else notice the ads for the "ROKU network music player" Quite a nifty looking device, and if I were looking for a network music player, I'd look into it. But you'd have to pry my audiotron from my cold dead hands.
Karma: Can only be portioned out by the Cosmos.
>> 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!
I am on Fido in Greater Vancouver -- Richmond is a part of the area, and Fido's reception is varying. I go to Richmond on a bi-weekly basis, and it gets a bit irritating that sometimes when I enter certain buildings, my reception drops considerably, sometimes to the point where it is unusable.
Fido (Microcell) uses GSM, which most likely means that this service is GPRS-based, which works on the same waveband if I remember right. They're notorious for offering awesome packages, but pitiful reception in certain areas.
I hope that if they're going to introduce this service that they actually improve the signal quality, because it isn't GSM that is the problem -- Rogers AT&T Wireless uses the same system, but it is the fact that there isn't enough nodes for me to connect to.
I am a very happy Fido customer regardless, but there are times where the reception blackouts do piss me off.
"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.
just the thought..
r.
What river separates China from India?
The Fraser.
Richmond/Delta, get it? Yeah, it's not the best joke and anyone from Vancouver has probably heard it a thousand times...
Whooooosh...there's the sound of evaporating karma.
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.
FYI the manufacturer will tell you the di-lithium crystals only need to be replaced every ten thousand light years or so.
OFDM is a good thing, but it ain't all that. Claims of non line of site operation are nice, with some of the products it will work a lot of the time, but you can never, ever build a business plan based on the builder's claim of radio performance.
Write me when you've done fifty installs and let me know how well it works
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