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Ask Slashdot: Can Any Wireless Tech Challenge Fiber To the Home?

Posted by timothy on from the fibrous-and-lumpy dept.

New submitter danielmorrison writes: In Holland, MI (birthplace of Slashdot) we're working toward fiber to the home. A handful of people have asked why not go wireless instead? I know my reasons (speed, privacy, and we have an existing fiber loop) but are any wireless technologies good enough that cities should consider them? If so, what technologies and what cities have had success stories?

3 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. Short answer? by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No.

    Long answer?

    Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

    Sorry, but that pesky little Shannon's Law gets in the way. Fibre provides more frequency and better SNR than you'll get in the air, thus more bits. You can't get around physics.

    1. Re:Short answer? by Firethorn · · Score: 5, Funny

      Not just that. I could give fiber speed to ONE user in an area by wireless. To 10% of the population, much less 'everybody'? Not happening.

      BTW, 'Shannon's Law' got a snerk from me. Another acronym crossover from two different fields.

      Data Transmission: Shannon–Hartley theorem
      Firearms: Shannon's Law, which forbids firing guns into the air in Arizona. You're living in the wrong area if ballistic lead is interfering with your wireless signal on a routine basis. ;)

      --
      I don't read AC A human right
  2. I run a WISP. No. by hawkeyeMI · · Score: 5, Informative

    Wireless can do as well as fiber, but it's going to cost a LOT more and you'll have trouble scaling it. I run a small rural wireless ISP, and while wireless is cheap and fast to deploy, it's not fiber, and it's never going to be. That said, with a good high point and backhaul, you can start providing speeds up to 40Mbps for less than $5k.

    --
    Error 404 - Sig Not Found