[Hidden-tech] Ashfield man pitches high-speed Wi-Fi plan
Robert Heller
heller at deepsoft.com
Thu Mar 27 13:07:17 EDT 2014
At Thu, 27 Mar 2014 12:41:37 -0400 ussailis at shaysnet.com wrote:
>
> Here are a few more points of interest for a radio based internet service:
>
> 1. WiFi is limited, by FCC law, as to power level. One watt maximum, except
> when directional antennas are used. Up to 4 Watts with highly directional
> antennas.
Just to clarify things: what I believe the Ashfield man is talking about and
what Country Roads is using is not the same as the 'WiFi' you have coming out
of your little Linksys / Netgear / D-Link box you bought at Best Buy and use
in your home/office with your laptop. The 'office/home' WiFi is in the 5.4GHZ
band (802.11 b/g/n). The outdoor (rooftop) systems run in the 700Mhz or 900Mhz
bands and use special radios and access points. But otherwise, they have the
same power limitations under FCC rules. They do have longer range than the
typical office WiFi router / access point. (Yes, it is possible to use an
'office/ home' WiFi box with an outdoor antenna and Yagi antennas are
available, but they are still more range limited compared to the 700Mhz and
900Mhz devices.)
>
> A typical WiFi box runs either 0.1 or 0.2 watts.
>
> 2. All other things equal, it takes 4 times the power to double range of
> any radio signal. This is known as the “square law,” and is a minimum value
> that is only valid for communications in space.. Most often it takes more
> than 4 times the power to double range because of additional absorbition
> and reflections at a further distance.
>
> 3. A dish antenna emits a pencil beam. The larger the dish, the smaller the
> beam. This is where antenna gain comes from: more signal into one direction
> at the expense of all other directions.
>
> 4. Nothing is gained from connecting many antennas in parallel. The energy
> is divided among each of the antennas, almost. The “almost” part refers to
> the amount of signal lost in the inter-connection structure.
>
> 5. Flat plate antennas have less gain that dish antennas. The gain of an
> antenna is primarly given by its size. A larger antenna has a smaller beam,
> which results in more gain.
>
> With antennas, there ainÂ’t no free lunch!
>
> 6. Disagree with me if you wish, but the significant part of signal loss
> through & past trees is due to reflection from leaves, dry or wet, not
> energy absorbed by the leaves. Yes I have observed this at frequencies just
> above the WiFi band.
The signal is lost, whether by reflection or absorbtion does not really matter
in the end. If there are trees between you and the access point, you lose. And
rural New England has trees everywhere, often on the tops of hills and down in
the valleys. This *also* applies to satelight internet as well -- satelight is
just another kind of wireless, with the 'access point' in orbit instead of on
a tower or rooftoop. All of the same physics laws apply.
>
> ---
> A few years ago I thought of placing a similar system in Ashfield to help
> some of my family and have a business. A bit more thought convinced me
> that, as a minimum, I needed a tower, or two, or three on the highest
> hill(s), some power at a frequency that I would need a license for,
> infrastructure, and lawyers.
>
> Sounds like your friendly cell phone company, doesnÂ’t it.
And even cell technology is still line of sight and is affected by trees.
There are all sorts of little 'dead zones' thoughout much of Western Mass.'s
hilltowns.
>
>
> Jim Ussailis
> jim at nationalwireless.com
>
> Original email:
> -----------------
> From: Robert Heller heller at deepsoft.com
> Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 23:20:20 -0400
> To: webmaster at hidden-tech.net, hidden-discuss at mm01.tnrnet.com
> Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] Ashfield man pitches high-speed Wi-Fi plan
>
>
> ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
> ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
> This is similar to what AccessPlus / Country Roads is offering. Some
> *important* things to note:
>
> This won't be anything close to 'Universal Service'. Western Mass has the
> wrong sort of terrian to provide anything close to 'Universal Service' via
> wireless. High speed wireless Internet means VHF (Very High Frequency)
> radios, which is line-of-sight and which is readily absorbed by moist (wet)
> leaves and snow covered branches. Forested hills (and valleys) will leave
> many people unable to get service, *even* when they are close to the access
> point -- the 700mhz and 900mhz access point techology has a range of about
> 1/2
> mile. And yes, rooftop repeaters are possible up to a point (each repeater
> adds some latency). *Some* towns have just the 'right' sort of topology
> for
> this sort of service to work well (Warwick is one example), but many towns
> don't.
>
> Wireless is also bandwidth limited and is a *shared* bandwidth resource.
> The
> upper bandwidth (for typical residental service) is going be be *less* than
> DSL and because it is a shared resource the more people using an access
> point,
> the less bandwidth will be available for any one subscriber.
>
> Wireless 'solutions' like this are at best a sort term stop gap and in the
> long term a fiber to the home solution is the really only long-term,
> 'future
> proof' option.
>
> At Wed, 26 Mar 2014 20:53:04 -0400 Rich Roth <webmaster at hidden-tech.net>
> wrote:
>
> >
> > MIME-Version: 1.0
> >
> > ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's
> area.
> > ** If you did, we all thank you.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> >
> > <html>
> > <head>
> >
> > <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
> charset=ISO-8859-1">
> > </head>
> > <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
> > From Recorder - Mar 13, 2014<br>
> > <br>
> > <span class="maintitle" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica,
> > sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0,
> > 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing:
> > normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
> > text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
> > widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width:
> 0px;"><b>Ashfield
> > man pitches high-speed Wi-Fi plan</b></span><br>
> > <span class="maintitle" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica,
> > sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0,
> > 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing:
> > normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
> > text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
> > widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width:
> 0px;"></span>
> > <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman';
> > font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;
> > font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal;
> > orphans: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none;
> > white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;
> > -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" align="justify"><span
> > class="abody" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
> > font-size: 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b><br>
> > By DIANE BRONCACCIO Recorder Staff</b></span><span
> > class="abody" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
> > font-size: 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span
> > class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span><br>
> > <br>
> > ASHFIELD — Christopher Gray wasn’t in Ashfield when a
> > Vermontbased wireless Internet service provider came to town,
> > proposing to set up high-speed wireless Internet service for
> > residents by December 2010. Those plans never materialized, but
> > now that the “middle mile” installation of the Massachusetts
> > Broadband InstituteÂ’s 123 Network has been completed, Gray is
> > hoping to set up service in Ashfield, and eventually in other
> > hilltowns where schools, libraries and town halls have a
> > fiber-optic connection.<br>
> > <br>
> > Doing business as Hilltown</span><span class="abody"
> > style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:
> > 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span
> class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span>Networks,
> > Gray hopes to provide high-speed wireless Internet to residents,
> > using mounted panel antennas on the Town Hall steeple from the
> > fiber-optic connection. He is</span><span class="abody"
> > style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:
> > 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span
> class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span>offering
> > the Town Hall free Internet service in exchange for the right to
> > place antenna panels on the steeple.<br>
> > <br>
> > <span class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span>The first phase, he
> > said, would be to make the service available to most households
> > within the town center.<br>
> > <br>
> > The second phase would be to set up repeaters to transmit the
> > signal to other areas of town.<br>
> > <br>
> > A public meeting is planned at Town Hall on March 20, beginning
> > at 7 p.m., for Gray to explain his proposal to the public, to
> > get residentsÂ’ input and gauge their interest. He has already
> > heard a concern about how the antenna would look on the historic
> > Town Hall steeple, and is planning</span><span class="abody"
> > style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:
> > 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span
> class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span>to
> > bring some visuals to the meeting.<br>
> > <br>
> > Gray is a mechanical engineer who moved to his familyÂ’s farm and
> > farmhouse in 2010 — and found the satellite- based Internet
> > service there to be “terrible,” he said. “I recognized there’s a
> > need for high-speed Internet — and we hope WiredWest will fill
> > that need — but it may take some time.”<br>
> > <br>
> > Until the WiredWest multitown initiative can build a fiber optic
> > infrastructure for “last mile” rural hilltowns, Gray is
> > proposing a Wireless Internet Service Provider, which is known
> > as WISP.<br>
> > <br>
> > </span><span class="abody" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica,
> > sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">“We’re going
> > to be taking Internet surveys on our website, which would
> > determine where the repeaters would go,” he said. “That’s the
> > overview. The intention is not just to do it in Ashfield, but in
> > other towns currently connected” to the state-provided fiber
> > cables that have reached many townowned</span><span
> > class="abody" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
> > font-size: 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span
> > class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span>buildings.</span><span
> > class="abody" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
> > font-size: 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span
> > class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span>That website is already
> > set up with a survey questionnaire, at: <a
> class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
> href="http://www.hilltownnetworks">www.hilltownnetworks</a>.
> > com Gray said he has been talking with town officials in the
> > hilltowns surrounding Ashfield, who also seem interested in his
> > plan.<br>
> > <br>
> > </span><span class="abody" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica,
> > sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In November,
> > Gray first spoke to the town Selectboard about his plan. And
> > since then, his proposal has been reviewed by, and recommended
> > by, the Historic Commission, the Town Hall Building Committee
> > and the Technology Committee.<br>
> > <br>
> > The old Great Auk Wireless Inc. plan of 2010 had called for an
> > 80-foot monopole telecommunications tower with a dish-shaped
> > antenna on top that would send and receive signals from another
> > tower.<br>
> > <br>
> > GrayÂ’s proposal calls for panel antennas, which are enclosed
> > antennas in rectangular containers. Gray says the panel antennas
> > heÂ’s considering would be either 28 inches tall and six inches
> > wide; or 4 feet 3 inches tall and 1 foot wide. Unlike other
> > types of antennas, the panel antennas can be aligned
> vertically.<br>
> > <br>
> > His proposal says that the equipment would be
> installed</span><span
> > class="abody" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
> > font-size: 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span
> > class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>“as deemed visually
> > appropriate” by the Town Hall Building Committee and Historical
> > Commission. Hilltown Networks would also carry general liability
> > insurance.<br>
> > <br>
> > “Ideally, they would not be very visible at all,” Gray said of
> > the antennas. “They could be externally mounted in a non-obvious
> > way. In the event theyÂ’re really not acceptable visually, weÂ’ll
> > work in a way to mount them that doesnÂ’t affect service too
> > much.<br>
> > <br>
> > “I really want what’s best for the people,” he said. “If they
> > say, ‘We don’t want it. We don’t want to look at this panel
> > antenna,’ then we won’t do it. If the town says ‘No thank you,’
> > that’s OK.”<br>
> > <br>
> > “I recognize the problem (of poor Internet service), and I see a
> > solution, if that is in the best interest of the town,” he said.
> > “If it can’t be done in an aesthetically pleasing way, that’s
> > something that I want</span><span class="abody"
> > style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:
> > 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span
> class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span>to
> > know.”<br>
> > <br>
> > Gray said itÂ’s also OK with him if, when a better technology
> > comes along, people switch to a direct fiber-optic connection.<br>
> > <br>
> > “My goal is to provide a system that is really transparent,”
> > said Gray. “You want a system to be a good as possible. The
> > whole model isnÂ’t worked out yet. I donÂ’t want to promise too
> > much, until I experience whatÂ’s possible. These people are my
> > neighbors, and I want to help them.”<br>
> > <br>
> > Gray said service would start out at about $50 per month. “Once
> > we get a decent amount of subscribers, and make sure everything
> > is (working), we intend to open it up to higher and
> lower</span><span
> > class="abody" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
> > font-size: 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span
> > class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span>(priced)</span><span
> > class="abody" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
> > font-size: 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span
> > class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>options.”</span><span
> > class="abody" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
> > font-size: 0.8em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span
> > class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span><br>
> > <br>
> > You can reach Diane Broncaccio at:<span
> > class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span><a class="email"
> > href="mailto:dbroncaccio at recorder.com" target="_blanks"
> > style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(0, 0,
> 255);">dbroncaccio at recorder.com</a><span
> > class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span>or 413-772-0261, ext.
> > 277</span><span class="Apple-converted-space">Â </span><br>
> > <br>
> > </p>
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--
Robert Heller -- 978-544-6933 / heller at deepsoft.com
Deepwoods Software -- http://www.deepsoft.com/
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