Last Mile, High Speed Help for Upper Michigan? 48
toaztke asks: "I've been charged with a quest by one of my employers. I am to sit on a regional committee and figure out how we can get high speed internet access all across Michigan's Upper Peninsula. For those of you not too familiar with the far north of this state one word can describe it all: 'rural'. So what I would like to know is if any Slashdot readers have any ideas/suggestions for me. Please send anything that crosses your mind my way. If you want more information on the project, just visit the Link UP website."
In expensive and reliable service (Score:2)
RURAL!!!! (Score:2)
Joe
Re:RURAL!!!! (Score:2)
Re:RURAL!!!! (Score:2)
Re:In expensive and reliable service (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyway, the UP of Michigan is a wonderful place, with a long history of shipping, copper mining, logging, hunting, fishing, and other manly man sorts of things. I grew up in Michigan, and loved to go camping up there whenever I could get the chance. My favorite part is the Keewenaw Penninsula, especially the old British fort with the palisade fence at Copper Harbor.
Re:In expensive and reliable service (Score:1)
Re:In expensive and reliable service (Score:2)
Ahem. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
In my experience, local cable companies don't really give a shit what their customers say, especially about the internet.
!Wires (Score:2, Interesting)
-k
Michigan Tech (Score:1)
A really big wireless network? (Score:2, Informative)
There are two key technologies that I think are needed; the wireless access module that interfaces with the fiber or pots backbone, and the box that is both a point-to-point trunk mux/demux/retransmitter and a wifi access point to hang on a telephone pole out in the middle of BFE. I think it should all fit into a box the size of the ones used by the cable company for their digital signal booting equipment (they look like a little beer fridge hanging on the pole).
The frequency spectrum for the trunks ought to be enough to get a five or six mile line of sight shot, even with the weather and the fog in the UP. Microwave is pretty power and infrastructure heavy, and the antennas aren't very discrete, but maybe a small SHF frequency radio with a good directional antenna.
Sure, using wireless forces you to actually use PKI and IPSEC, but everyone really ought to any way.
The business model could be one with a infrastructure owned and maintained as a utility, and the access and services provided in flat fee packages by ISP's that actually compete for customers. Perhaps there could be a minimal service, like an e-mail address with a small quota and a finite use account could be the right of taxpayers if the gov is footing the bill for install and maintenance of the infrastructure.
Re:A really big wireless network? (Score:2, Interesting)
Trees.
Millions and millions of trees.
A huge part of the UP is national or state forest, and is *densely* forested, mostly with pines.
Not to mention the geography. The western end of the UP in particular is very mountanious (OK, maybe hilly is a bit more accurate), and the mineral content of the rock is sky-high (lots of copper, iron, etc.), which wreaks absolute havoc with any kind of wireless signal (ever radio stinks up there, and don't get me started on cell-phone coverage). Since many of the towns are in valleys, wireless networks will have a lot of holes, even if you put a transmitter on every hilltop.
DSL is probably the best bet, but the phone network up there isn't exactly stellar once you get outside the major towns (Marquette, Houghton/Hancock, the Soo). Not to mention that a lot of the smaller towns aren't even served by SBC/Ameritech (there are a bunch of small rural phone companies up there).
Check out MIS (Score:3, Informative)
This company was mentioned on /. a while ago; I don't have THAT link, but here's a link to their home page at: Midcoast Internet Solutions [midcoast.com] (MIS). For more details, check out their about [midcoast.com] page which provides info on their dialup, ISDN. DSL, and wireless solutions.
MIS provides high-speed wireless internet access along the mid coast of Maine (USA). The up-front fee is kind of stiff, ($795; but there is a $300 discount with a one year commitment) but that gets you service at $50/month at speeds up to 20 times 56K dialup access. (Taken from their High Speed Wireless Internet Access [midcoast.com] page.
DISCLAIMER: I've not personally used this service, nor do I have any financial interest. But I did grow up in Maine and the thought of high-speed internet access in an area of breathtaking scenery (and much lower home prices than the Boston area where I am now) is VERY tempting.
Why not a wireless solution? (Score:2)
All wireless solutions are not created equal (Score:2)
Not as easy as that. (Score:2, Informative)
If you go here [michigan.org], it's plain to see that this isn't a simple problem. Hell, I used to live in a rural suburb of Grand Rapids, and it's ridiculous hard to get decent dial-up service there.
Judging by the tele-comm infrastructure maps (off the link above), it looks like the best thing to do would be to tap off that fat pipe from Chicago to Houghton, and get a pipe running east-west accross the U.P.
Of course, I guess it depends on whether you're trying to bring service to every Tom, Dick, and Harry who lives up there, or if you're just trying to connect major cities and leave the plebes to the cable/telcos.
BTW, it'd be really tough for wireless to work up there; Not only is there still alot of Fe in the ground, but the U.P. isn't exactly flat. You'd have really short line of sight, unless you went satellite.
Re:Not as easy as that. (Score:1)
I used to live in Belding. My nearest neighbor had cable tv, internet, etc. I lived 150 yards from him and had to get a sat dish and 28.8 dialup! Thankfully, Greenville had cable when I moved up there.
Why are you asking us? (Score:3, Insightful)
Good luck in your search, but I doubt anyone here will be of much help. Find and talk to some experts.
- A.P.
What about LinkMichigan? (Score:1)
http://www.linkmichigan.michigan.org/
I'm sure you guys are included!
What happened to Bresnan? (Score:1)
Grain Silos (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Grain Silos (Score:1)
UP "agriculture" consists of:
Use lots of linux and freebsd boxen (Score:1, Offtopic)
By using linux and bsd boxen, you save alot of money compared to sun or microsoft.
also consider that you can use commidity hardware and save even more
overall it would probaly onyl cost about $200,000 to wire the whole state.
Look into Optical technologies (Score:1)
Do a joint effort to run single mode fibre to each house. Colocate equipment in "common" Environmental vaults. Each group pays 1/3 of the cost to run buy & burry the fibre. And Each group pays for 1/3 of the Buildings. POND techlology is relatively inexpensive about $800/ port(for both ends) it provides cable, phone & broadband
-- Tim
Bars! (Score:4, Funny)
Wiring the Upers, eh? Well, it may be rural, but there seem to be an abundance of bars. After all, anytime you ask for directions, it's always in relation to the bars. So all you have to do is run a T1 or so to every bar (not a small expense, to be sure, but sure better than wiring everyone), and set up a wireless access point with an antenna and booster. That might not cover the whole penensula, but it should cover most of the homes & businesses, and a good deal of the hunting grounds (don't know how important that will be for a few years though given the deer elimination this year).
And if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm kidding.
-"Zow"
Merit (Score:1)
Merit Network [merit.edu]
3G cell phone (Score:1)
Convince some cell phone company to do tests of the 3rd generation cell phones there. I don't know how you would make it worth their while, but 3G cell phone could be a good option for many people if it ever takes off. (for that matter if they ever agree on a standard...)
Re:3G cell phone (Score:2)
Having just returned from vacationing in the UP, I can assure you that the results of such a test are: "No Service".
Kincheloe/Kinross (Score:2, Informative)
This is as rural as Virginia purported to be back in 1710.
Wireless is out. First snowstorm will not only knock the Pringle cans, but the sturdiest Yagi antenna also, unless you buy those "Octogonal Radar Dome" to protect the elements from the elements.
Cable is out. no cable company in their right business mind will touch such an incredible low-density of a rural area that even makes Montana rural community look like bustling cities.
DSL is out. More than 90% of the customer lives outside of the CO radii (and that is using the best SHDSL technology)
I wouldn't say S.O.L., yet.
This would be an excellent time for taking advantage of local railway's right-of-way for dropping fiber lines and setting up multiple Point of Access.
Marquette is a good starting place for OC-3 vector point.
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, via microwave, might get you a decent DS-3 link.
I don't think there is any decent speed left by going across the Mackinaw Bridge, unless someone lights a fiber up to Mackinaw City and then Microwave them over. Then, I was pretty sure they've laid fiber across the bridge but not sure if they are lit yet.
Re:Kincheloe/Kinross (and Mackinaw City) (Score:1)
connexion (Score:1)
CharterMi.com (Score:2)
Selling capacity... (Score:1)
Re:==heya! (Score:2)
PON (Score:1)
Two choices (Score:2)
2) Move the people to a damn city.
Rural folks get many advantages over urban folks: lower cost of living; less pollution (air, water, noise and light); lower crime and so on. Why do yo uthink you can have the advantages of living in a city (running water; paved roads; high speed internet), too?
Sorry this is so late... (Score:1)
Mesh Networks over Fiber (Score:1)
I think that a good idea would be to get fiber (not T1, not cable, as fiber is cheaper) to all small towns and do wireless mesh networks in the towns. This will probably be your best bang for the buck.
Good luck,
Mihai