I have used fixed wireless as my connection to the internet for over 4 years now. It is a 5mbs link connected to a mountaintop center point about 20 miles away using MMDS technology.
I get peak speeds that approach what 3 T-1s would provide at a reasonable monthly fee. Downloads from capable servers provide data at rates of around half a megabyte a second. It is extremely reliable and costs about the same as a cable hookup that would provide only one tenth the speed.
For those who say it is not as fast as a fiber hookup, you are correct. However no fiber hookup can compete at these prices (at least not for a while). After the central tower is built the only cost to install is the installation of a pizza box sized antenna on the roof of the home. When compared to the cost of laying fiber to reach homes this is dirt cheap.
It is also very reliable - I have experienced about 5 hours of total downtime in over 4 years of use (3 or 4 incidents). I know many cable users that would be happy if they only had 5 hours of downtime in a week.
Fixed wireless is a very viable high speed home connection alternative. The main problem with the technology my hookup uses is that line of sight to the central tower is required which makes it a very hard install in the flatter cities. The spread spectrum choice would eliminate that problem. (Mine is microwave based)
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I have used fixed wireless as my connection to the internet for over 4 years now. It is a 5mbs link connected to a mountaintop center point about 20 miles away using MMDS technology. I get peak speeds that approach what 3 T-1s would provide at a reasonable monthly fee. Downloads from capable servers provide data at rates of around half a megabyte a second. It is extremely reliable and costs about the same as a cable hookup that would provide only one tenth the speed. For those who say it is not as fast as a fiber hookup, you are correct. However no fiber hookup can compete at these prices (at least not for a while). After the central tower is built the only cost to install is the installation of a pizza box sized antenna on the roof of the home. When compared to the cost of laying fiber to reach homes this is dirt cheap. It is also very reliable - I have experienced about 5 hours of total downtime in over 4 years of use (3 or 4 incidents). I know many cable users that would be happy if they only had 5 hours of downtime in a week. Fixed wireless is a very viable high speed home connection alternative. The main problem with the technology my hookup uses is that line of sight to the central tower is required which makes it a very hard install in the flatter cities. The spread spectrum choice would eliminate that problem. (Mine is microwave based)