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djhurt1
07-18-2003, 02:22 AM
Hi, I'm hoping someone can share some info. for me on an outdoor wireless question. The computer shop I was working for did alot of work for the local WISP and we got to see alot of their setup. They won't talk to anyone about their setup, equipment, etc. for fear of a competitor popping up so I can't ask them. They have radios for their backbone radios, then access points all over town. Now, would it be safe to assume that these AP's are what their subscribers connect to? What they do is install a PCMCIA adaptor into the subscribers PC's, then an antennae on their building. For businesses they install CPE etc.
The reason I ask is we are trying to do a similar although much smaller in scale setup in the small town I live in for Internet access. I do have radio knowledge, and good network knowledge but I do not understand how the different radios work together. I look at base stations and I assume this will be what one would use for backbone radios? Access points, will talk to the basestation and connect the users to the network, correct? If not, please lend a hand and thanks.
djhurt1

GBUYERS
07-23-2003, 05:00 PM
I am still a newbie to the wireless technology but I have done enough research on access points the past few days to put the average person in a coma. Most of the Enterprise and Public Access Points work in a load balancing or repeating mode allow you to extend the range of your access area. It may also be possible that they are using a Point to Multi-Point bridge/routing solution to connect the different access points. Hope this helps.

scseth
07-31-2003, 06:44 PM
Many ISPs using wireless are not necessarily using 802.11b access points. When I saw you mention a CPE device, makes me think of products like Motorola Canopy or Waverider, which operate on the 5.8 Ghz frequency.

Vivato is an 802.11b AP/switch manufacturer with an outside AP designed for multiple users and has a range beyond a normal omi-directional antenea.

Some of the city-wide deployments my company has been involved with use a cluster of APs at various locations throughout the city where they can pipe a T1. This may not allow for complete city wide coverage, but coverage where users will be expecting access.

Seth Goldhammer
CTO @ Roving Planet
http://www.rovingplanet.com