An El Dorado County, California Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) is challenging incumbent telephone and cable providers in a small, suburban segment of the county.
Cal.net's "Urban Wireless Internet" is offered at a flat $40 monthly fee with no contractual commitments -- clearly aimed at undercutting the triple play bundle pricing of the incumbents. The service offering claims asymmetrical connectivity of 15 Mbs down and 3 Mbs up. There's a $95 installation fee.
Showing posts with label WISP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WISP. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Saturday, August 04, 2012
Large WISP bites the dust; Satellites swarm for former customers
Main Street Broadband shuts down | JCFLORIDAN
According its LinkedIn profile, Atlanta-based Main Street Broadband, LLC is a privately held wireless broadband service provider "committed to bringing affordable high speed internet access and digital phone service to the un-served and underserved markets in the southeast" using "the latest in wireless broadband technology for both residential and business services."
The reason for the shutdown of the WISP according to the linked newspaper story is loan funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service was terminated.
Fixed wireless premise service like Main Street's plays an important interim role until communities and alternative business models emerge to construct fiber to the premises infrastructure needed for today and tomorrow's Internet protocol-based services.
Now satellite Internet providers are swarming to scoop up the defunct WISP's former customers. Unfortunately for them, they now like all too many Americans face the lousy choice of sucking a satellite and its punitive bandwidth caps and poor connection quality or turning back the calendar to 1992 and dialugging over obsolete legacy telco copper cable. But it doesn't have to be that way. Communities can and should invest the necessary time, money and energy to build their own fiber infrastructure and operate it prudently and sustainably as a community and economic development asset.
According its LinkedIn profile, Atlanta-based Main Street Broadband, LLC is a privately held wireless broadband service provider "committed to bringing affordable high speed internet access and digital phone service to the un-served and underserved markets in the southeast" using "the latest in wireless broadband technology for both residential and business services."
The reason for the shutdown of the WISP according to the linked newspaper story is loan funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service was terminated.
Fixed wireless premise service like Main Street's plays an important interim role until communities and alternative business models emerge to construct fiber to the premises infrastructure needed for today and tomorrow's Internet protocol-based services.
Now satellite Internet providers are swarming to scoop up the defunct WISP's former customers. Unfortunately for them, they now like all too many Americans face the lousy choice of sucking a satellite and its punitive bandwidth caps and poor connection quality or turning back the calendar to 1992 and dialugging over obsolete legacy telco copper cable. But it doesn't have to be that way. Communities can and should invest the necessary time, money and energy to build their own fiber infrastructure and operate it prudently and sustainably as a community and economic development asset.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
WISPs endeavor to provide needed broadband "third pipe" in El Dorado County
The pathetic state of wireline broadband Internet access in El Dorado County, California has spawned locally based Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) to provide a much needed "third pipe" for county residents and small businesses who have been stiff armed for years by AT&T and Comcast.
Startup Remotely Located run by Jason and Jennifer Wilson is deploying Wi-Fi based service using both directional and non-directional transmission technology. Remotely Located is serving areas deprived of wireline broadband service in the Mosquito/Swansboro Country area and has recently expanded into West Camino and your blogger's neighborhood.
Sierra Advantage emerged out of the bankruptcy earlier this year of one of El Dorado County's first ISPs, Direct Connect. According to the WISP's service area map, it covers my area. Not quite yet, according to Brett Patterson, director of sales for Shingle Springs-based Sierra Advantage. "We continue to build out our network and get closer each week to offering you service," Patterson wrote in an email yesterday. "Soon we will have additional equipment up in your area. There are some very exciting, positive changes coming for us regarding our Internet services."
My hat's off to these WISPs. Providing fixed terrestrial wireless Internet access in El Dorado County's rugged terrain where steep canyons and tall trees create obstacles for wireless signals is no easy feat.
Aside from overcoming these technological hurdles and providing reliable service at advertised throughput speeds, a key challenge as they add customers will be obtaining sufficient backhaul connections to the Internet -- wireline circuits capable of providing large amounts of bandwidth -- to accomodate the growth. Subscribers won't be pleased if a bandwidth traffic jam at the backhaul makes their speeds slow to a crawl and drag with the high latency that afflicts substandard satellite-based Internet access.
Readers who subscribe to services offered by these WISPS are invited to share their experiences and satisfaction with them by posting comments to this post.
Startup Remotely Located run by Jason and Jennifer Wilson is deploying Wi-Fi based service using both directional and non-directional transmission technology. Remotely Located is serving areas deprived of wireline broadband service in the Mosquito/Swansboro Country area and has recently expanded into West Camino and your blogger's neighborhood.
Sierra Advantage emerged out of the bankruptcy earlier this year of one of El Dorado County's first ISPs, Direct Connect. According to the WISP's service area map, it covers my area. Not quite yet, according to Brett Patterson, director of sales for Shingle Springs-based Sierra Advantage. "We continue to build out our network and get closer each week to offering you service," Patterson wrote in an email yesterday. "Soon we will have additional equipment up in your area. There are some very exciting, positive changes coming for us regarding our Internet services."
My hat's off to these WISPs. Providing fixed terrestrial wireless Internet access in El Dorado County's rugged terrain where steep canyons and tall trees create obstacles for wireless signals is no easy feat.
Aside from overcoming these technological hurdles and providing reliable service at advertised throughput speeds, a key challenge as they add customers will be obtaining sufficient backhaul connections to the Internet -- wireline circuits capable of providing large amounts of bandwidth -- to accomodate the growth. Subscribers won't be pleased if a bandwidth traffic jam at the backhaul makes their speeds slow to a crawl and drag with the high latency that afflicts substandard satellite-based Internet access.
Readers who subscribe to services offered by these WISPS are invited to share their experiences and satisfaction with them by posting comments to this post.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Another WISP entering El Dorado County
NuTel Broadband Corporation, a broadband wireless managed services provider based in Cranbury, NJ, announced it plans to deploy wireless "mesh" broadband networks in Sacramento, Chico, San Jose and El Dorado County as part of a 14-state rollout.
The rollout is targeting underserved suburban and rural subscribers and small-to-medium sized businesses in regions where broadband wireless network services have been limited or generally unavailable, according to NuTel.
NuTel CEO Joe Fiero says unlike most wireless broadband systems that utilize a copper cable-based data line to connect them to the Internet, NuTel uses fiber optic cable as the system "backhaul," providing a minimum throughput of 45 Mbps, offering plenty of bandwidth for future growth. It will also offer proprietary network VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) that allows subscribers to make digital voice telephone calls over the system.
Fiero says NuTel expects to offer 192/192 kbps Internet connectivity for $14.99 a month, 1.5/1.5 mbps for $34.99, and a bundled Internet and unlimited digital voice calling product at $59.99 per month.
In hilly terrains like El Dorado County, wireless faces a major technological challenge since it requires a clear, unobstructed line of sight to reach end users. Not NuTel's "mesh" system it's deploying in conjuction with Santa Clara-based SkyPilot Networks, which Fiero says is based on a "close spaced node topology that gives us the ability to saturate the coverage area."
Given the many underserved areas of El Dorado that are clearly within NuTel's stated target market such as parts of Placerville, Garden Valley, Camino, Pollock Pines, Pleasant Valley and Mosquito, I asked Fiero when NuTel would be deploying in these areas. Unfortunately despite their starkly underserved status with no broadband services, Fiero didn't have good news.
Turns out parts of Folsom and El Dorado Hills are running short of DSL connections from AT&T (AT&T isn't confirming this) and NuTel will roll out there first, eventually making its way east up Highway 50. Fiber optic cable is also more readily available in Folsom and EDH at this time, Fiero explains.
Memo to Mr. Fiero: fiber is also available farther up the hill. Those who have been stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide surrounding Placerville will surely be watching with interest to see if NuTel can get its system off the ground on the western edge of the county during this initial deployment and if it lives up to its stated mission of providing service in underserved areas where broadband is not available.
The rollout is targeting underserved suburban and rural subscribers and small-to-medium sized businesses in regions where broadband wireless network services have been limited or generally unavailable, according to NuTel.
NuTel CEO Joe Fiero says unlike most wireless broadband systems that utilize a copper cable-based data line to connect them to the Internet, NuTel uses fiber optic cable as the system "backhaul," providing a minimum throughput of 45 Mbps, offering plenty of bandwidth for future growth. It will also offer proprietary network VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) that allows subscribers to make digital voice telephone calls over the system.
Fiero says NuTel expects to offer 192/192 kbps Internet connectivity for $14.99 a month, 1.5/1.5 mbps for $34.99, and a bundled Internet and unlimited digital voice calling product at $59.99 per month.
In hilly terrains like El Dorado County, wireless faces a major technological challenge since it requires a clear, unobstructed line of sight to reach end users. Not NuTel's "mesh" system it's deploying in conjuction with Santa Clara-based SkyPilot Networks, which Fiero says is based on a "close spaced node topology that gives us the ability to saturate the coverage area."
Given the many underserved areas of El Dorado that are clearly within NuTel's stated target market such as parts of Placerville, Garden Valley, Camino, Pollock Pines, Pleasant Valley and Mosquito, I asked Fiero when NuTel would be deploying in these areas. Unfortunately despite their starkly underserved status with no broadband services, Fiero didn't have good news.
Turns out parts of Folsom and El Dorado Hills are running short of DSL connections from AT&T (AT&T isn't confirming this) and NuTel will roll out there first, eventually making its way east up Highway 50. Fiber optic cable is also more readily available in Folsom and EDH at this time, Fiero explains.
Memo to Mr. Fiero: fiber is also available farther up the hill. Those who have been stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide surrounding Placerville will surely be watching with interest to see if NuTel can get its system off the ground on the western edge of the county during this initial deployment and if it lives up to its stated mission of providing service in underserved areas where broadband is not available.
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