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Parent-Friendly Wireless Bridge To Span 500 Meters?

GonnaBRichYeahYeah! writes "My dad lives down a dirt road 500 meters off the main road. The cable company will not put cable down his lane for any less than the ridiculous sum of $10,000. And he cannot get phone line DSL since he is so far away from the central terminal, so he relied on painful 22k/sec dial-up for access to the Internet. He got sick of it and relies on Hughes satellite Internet, at $60/month, but he still has to be connected to a phone line to upload to the Internet. It's not a good solution, but better than dial-up. His friend lives on the corner of the main drag with his lane and has cable, thus hi-speed Internet. I suggested that he get a wireless access point, and put it at his friend's house and then get a wireless card for access. The problem is that no wireless routers go that far (max range of -N is 200 feet) and WiMax is too complex for a 70-year old man. Any suggestions from Slashdot crowd would be helpful." Plenty of people make wireless links over longer distances, but often they're not suited for people who want simplicity and reliability. What's the best out there right now?

2 of 558 comments (clear)

  1. Move by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Sell the house and move.

  2. Are you serious? by flattop100 · · Score: -1, Troll

    How can this be labeled INFORMATIVE? Come on, take a REALISTIC view of the situation. Costs for conduit and cable are expensive, there are probably zoning restrictions, I'm pretty sure the cable company would SUE you if they found out, and like the poster said, his dad is 70 YEARS OLD. Good luck finding friends to dig ditches so dad can look at naked ladies.