Internet Hardware For White-Space Spectrum? 36
g2 in the desert writes "I live in a small rural community in the US Southwest, where broadband service varies from decent but very expensive, to lousy but less expensive. Now that the Federal Communications Commission has approved the use of the soon to be vacated White-Space Spectrum, I'm interested in helping the community build its own local Internet service, providing villagers another choice. Does anyone know what companies will be manufacturing hardware that will be required to utilize this spectrum, and what steps need to be taken in order to be in compliance with any FCC rules and regulations?"
Watch out for the Big ISPs (Score:3, Informative)
Seems the big ISPs don't really want your kind in the broadband business [slashdot.org]. Watch what happens when good ideas meet greed - i.e. Greenlight [greenlightnc.com] providing competition [dailytech.com] to the greedy last mile ISPs.
All I have to say is - good luck!
Mod Parent Down (Score:1, Insightful)
Seems the big ISPs don't really want your kind in the broadband business [slashdot.org]. Watch what happens when good ideas meet greed - i.e. Greenlight [greenlightnc.com] providing competition [dailytech.com] to the greedy last mile ISPs.
All I have to say is - good luck!
Interesting? How did that help the person or answer any questions at all? What an extremely shitty defeatist attitude.
Re:Parent is worthwhile (Score:1, Informative)
Anyone considering developing their own community-driven ISP should be aware of the ongoing struggles these kinds of enterprises are facing, and the ends to which big media will go to stop them from cutting into their profits (such as push-polling).
Mod root up, the internet is serious business.
Re: (Score:1)
-Oz
Re: (Score:2)
Well, this seems to differ at least slightly from Greenlight in that Greenlight was a government effort, and this seems to be a coop type effort.
Re: (Score:1)
It may seem defeatist to you, A.C., but it is important to understand the marketplace when starting a new business. While I applaud his efforts and back him 100% in trying to provide something useful to the locals, you have to understand how your business is going to function in its environment. Good ideas, while the basis of entrepreneurship, aren't all that's required. Many businesses have been sunk over the years by bigger or monetarily stronger companies who do they same job (more or less) but in a shod
Negotiations for the new Millenium. (Score:3, Insightful)
"... Does anyone know what companies will be manufacturing hardware that will be required to utilize this spectrum, and what steps need to be taken in order to be in compliance with any FCC rules and regulations?"
Yeah, I know what you need. Palm Grease. Industrial-grade Palm Grease. You can order it directly from AIG in 55-gallon drums.
I hear the OEM is General Motors, so you might get a discount going directly to the manufacturer.
Seems to work damn well as bailout lubricant too. Just FYI, in case your idea starts to go south...
K-Y Palm Grease (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, I know what you need. Palm Grease. Industrial-grade Palm Grease. You can order it directly from AIG in 55-gallon drums.
I hear the OEM is General Motors
I thought the manufacturer of palm grease was Johnson & Johnson [wikipedia.org].
WISPA (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Sorry since the article you refered to is a broken link I though you were talking about the 700Mhz spectrum that was auctioned off.
The 300-400Mhz spectrum has only one major player right now and that is Motorola. The device that they are proposing uses the TDD FSK Modulation with a GPS sync much like their canopy line. However I am hoping that they will choose to follow a standard (unlike canopy line) so that others will be able to interoperate.
The Motorola device uses an FCC database to help it to find ope
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
parent is talking nonsense.
the white spaces are free for unlicensed use just like the 2.4 GHz spectrum currently used for wifi routers. no one can buy the white spaces.
Answer Cloudy (Score:1, Funny)
Ask Again Later
Airspan WiMAX (Score:2, Insightful)
Does anyone here have any first hand knowledge of the 700mhz license?
Re:Airspan WiMAX (Score:4, Informative)
The poster was asking about the "white-space" which is the space between television channels. The FCC has recently approved its use without a license. This is not the same thing as the 700Mhz band.
Your confusion is probably because the original poster described the space as "soon to be vacated" which is not an accurate way to describe the white-space. 700Mhz will be vacated soon, but must be licensed. White-space is already vacant and won't need to be licensed.
Here's one... (Score:1)
Ubiquity (Score:3, Informative)
Ubiquity makes hardware that you may find useful
see http://www.ubnt.com/ [ubnt.com]
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Too soon (Score:1)
Standard isn't finalized (Score:1)
WRAN def link (Score:1)
WRAN, or Wireless Regional Area Network [wikipedia.org]
Your Business Plan? (Score:2)
I'm interested in helping the community build its own local Internet service, providing villagers another choice.
It sounds as if you have at least two established, viable, commercial competitors in a very small market.
If they are DSL or cable, then they are almost certainly offering bundled services that you are not going to be able to provide.
I think you need to sit back, relax, wait and see how small-scale projects in the 700 MHz band fare elsewhere.
Bandwidth costs and the backhaul (Score:3, Informative)
Funding (Score:1)
Wait & hope. Maybe 3650 wimax? (Score:1)
Knowledgeable people in the wireless ISP industry say whitespaces gear won't be available for at least another year. If it works out as expected, you would just buy it and use it, similar to today's wifi gear. It would require an Internet connection, to lookup the available channels database (daily) in your location.
As an alternative available today, you might consider the WISP 3650Mhz spectrum. The license for that costs $210. A brand I have looked at is Tranzeo, they sell Wimax gear in that frequency. (ab
My advice: step back from the community wireless (Score:2)
Or maybe you can get a really good deal on all the dead solar powered poles on every other street corner in about a 1/3 of my suburb of Saint Louis Park, MN. It's an officially dead project. Something in the applied math. They never were able to get decent and reliable throughput in the quadrant that went live tests.
Wireless Equipment (Score:1)
First, I must emphasize the point made by many previous posters that you need to do your homework. Examine the costs involved in starting such a company. Examine the competition closely, and compare it to your potential to make profits and essentia