 Fixed Wireless Internet Connections
WISP - Wireless ISP
In places where DSL and
cable modems are not available, your next stop is a wireless ISP. A
wireless ISP (known as a WISP) sets an antenna on a tower and
broadcasts an Internet signal to everyone within sight -
sometimes as far as 35 miles. Subscribers rig an antenna on their roof pointed
at the WISP antenna, plug in a special 'modem' and end up
with a fast reliable internet connection. Simple!
Update: 5/20/2002 - 3rd generation fixed
wireless available soon. These new fixed wireless services
will be more reliable and have better coverage than old
services. Signals will no longer require line-of-sight and
will cost the ISP less to install. Look for national rollouts
soon!
The Technology
The technology behind a fixed wireless
broadband provider is fairly simple. The frequencies used however
are sometimes prone to weather. Lightning, storms can impact the
reliability of the connection. In the early days heavy rain also
disrupted connections but fewer and fewer people are complaining
about such things
The speed of your wireless connection is
completely dependent on your service provider and their connection
to an Internet backbone. Throughputs can be as high as 1.5Mbps or as
low as 128Mbps depending on the service level your provider offers.
Ping times to your provider should be VERY low - around 5-6MS. Your
actual lag time or ping time will depend on the service providers
connection
Sharing the connection
Sharing your internet
connection depends on the type of modem you received. USB modems
have no choice other than a software
based solution
. Modems with Ethernet may choose a
broadband router - no special consideration is required for the
broadband type.
A note on IP address
If your Internet IP address starts with
192.168. or 10. then you do not have a real internet IP Address -
you have been assigned a private IP address. This
is not uncommon for new broadband providers. Read this document to
understand what you can and can not do.
External Resources
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