Rural Internet Access v4.0

[Matt Meiser]

I got my new internet access up and running today. Since we live in a rural area that the cable company won't service and Verizon refuses to upgrade their junk network, some form of wireless is the only option. We've had satellite from Hughesnet. When Sprint rolled out 3G we switched to that which was a huge improvement. Then this past summer, Sprint decided that despite previous advertising, they no longer wanted to be an ISP for people like me and put a cap on downloads that made it effectively useless. After a miserable failed attempt at getting service from a Wireless ISP in town, I found a company called Accel Networks that provides commercial-grade service through the 3G network. Their service is nowhere even close to inexpensive, but luckily my employer is paying part of the tab.

Accel sent a box of parts for me to install. There's a modem, a cell signal amplifier, and two antennas. The antenna mounting locations had all kinds of rules and finally I decided the best thing was to put them in the attic above the closet in my office. That's prefinished maple plywood and poplar in the picture of the antennas. I think they compliment the existing pine 2x's nicely. Joinery is drywall screws. :rolleyes:. The electronics got mounted in the upper corner of the closet (that's Baltic birch). I pulled a CAT-5 cable back to the network closet in the basement where my router, switch, and, Windows Home Server live (and eventually a distribution point for phone and TV) I still need to do some tidying up of the wiring and I need to run a new circuit into the closet to get rid of the extension cord currently running in under the door.

Today they tuned the antennas by experimenting with some different methods for connecting the antennas to optimize signal and minimize noise. Once it was tuned up we get a 1.2mbs down/400kbs up connection pretty reliably which is about a 50%/25% improvement over Sprint. They have me using a Verizon tower about 1 mile away so there's even a signal with the antennas disconnected.

The best part is, being a commercial grade service, there's no port blocking and I have a fixed IP address, so I can run some services to allow me to remotely access my network, or give co-workers remote access for project collaboration.

[Frank Hagan]

Very nice! I think you'll find that Verizon's signal will be pretty consistent; their field people are pretty good. They monitor the network pretty closely (I work for a company that supplies them RF filters for their cell network, and they are good people to work with on that end of the business ... although I'm disappointed they aren't rolling out FIOS to my neighborhood yet!)

[Jim Becker]

Matt, looks good! I hope that your service level meets your needs over time, too.

Point of curiosity, whose cell amplifier did they supply?

[Matt Meiser]

Wilson SignalBoost 811211 (http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/ViewProduct.php?ID=126) plus an AC adapter. The antennas are proprietary. The modem is an Airlink Raven X (http://www.sierrawireless.com/product/AirLink/ravenx.aspx)from Sierra Wireless.

In all, its around $1000 worth of hardware they provide as part of the contracted cost.

[Jim Becker]

Ok, that's different than the repeater I'm considering to help solve our weak signal situation in the house. (The inexpensive repeaters don't work for me--tried 'em and had to resell them privately since they are often not returnable...I have to buy a "real" one which will run just under $900 for what I need)

[Matt Meiser]

A couple guys at work bought ones that were in the $300 range. They worked for everyone but our president. He ended up going with a T-Mobile phone that does VOIP when connected to a wifi network which solved his problem.

I think I remember you getting an iPhone? I assume you heard AT&T is going to start offering femtocells next year, following Sprint's lead?

[Jim Becker]

I've been excited about the Femtocell scenario since they first started to be talked about and I'd love to have that available. It's weighing in on my decision about the repeater simply because of cost. The $300 units just didn't work well in the past, although we seem to be getting a little better signal these days...perhaps there has been some cell tuning. I have two bars right now sitting here in my office, but it sill goes up and down and is not reliable enough for me to use one of my telephony features that allows me to extend an in-progress call to my wireless so I can hang up the VPN phone and walk out the door. The signal drops further when I walk down the stairs. I do the poor-man's version of that feature for in-progress conference calls by staying on the call with my wireless headset until I'm in the car and then bringing up the conference on my iPhone and dropping it from my headset. But I can't get much of a signal if any at all at the other end of the house...the one with the 18" thick limestone walls...

I know that winter signal is always a little better, however, so it will be interesting to see how things are once the leaves come back in the spring. For that reason, I'm not buying the repeater too quickly. It's a lot of money which can go to other things. Like our carrot supply for Dreamy. :D

[Frank Hagan]

Jim, it sounds like you are with AT&T (iPhone, etc.) I don't know what their plans are for the new year specifically in PA, but I do know that a lot of the "signal enhancement" products are scheduled to ship out in the first quarter. You might see some improvement then.

[Jim Becker]

Correct, Frank. AT&T/Cingular/A&T since 1996. I am seeing some improvements and would be very pleased if they do some further upgrading on the local cell. We are in an unfortunately position relative to the cell tower, with the house right at the base of the mountain the tower is on, with line-of-sight having to pass through, well...a big hunk of limestone geology between "us" and the tower. Go 500' in either direction up or down the road and you're nailed at 5 bars. 1-2 bars max in the driveway and in the house, well...not a whole lot of signal, but it comes and goes.

I just read more on BBR about AT&T possibly jumping on the Femtocell bandwagon this coming year, but they are only going to be starting consumer testing in about the second quarter and I doubt it will be around here. The device is slated to cost $100, but there will probably be an additional monthly fee, too, not to mention the potential displeasure of non-AT&T ISPs with carrying the traffic. I may still go with the repeater in that light, but I'm not ready to make that decision.

[Eddie Watkins]

What kind of improvements are you guys talking about? I have been watching Matt's experiences with interest since I'm in a similar situation. I have an AT&T air card plugged in to a USB port on a desk top computer. It has been a major improvement over dialup and continues to get better so I think they must be doing some enhancements. I get 2-3 bars most of the time on a 3G network. The signal strenth is usually around 90 dBm, whatever that means.

[Matt Meiser]

Eddie, you might be able to improve your performance with an outside antenna if you are just using the card. I saw a significant improvement on my Sprint card with a $90 antenna mounted on my TV tower. You might even get a signicant improvent just buying a USB extension cord and moving the card to a higher spot where there's not much interference.

Here's a source for antennas and amplifiers: http://www.3gstore.com (http://www.3gstore.com/)

[Eddie Watkins]

Eddie, you might be able to improve your performance with an outside antenna if you are just using the card. I saw a significant improvement on my Sprint card with a $90 antenna mounted on my TV tower. You might even get a signicant improvent just buying a USB extension cord and moving the card to a higher spot where there's not much interference.

Here's a source for antennas and amplifiers: http://www.3gstore.com

Wow! thanks Matt. I had know idea all that stuff existed. I know you've been working on a solution for quite awhile. I hope your new solution is satisfactory.

[Frank Hagan]

For data, you're about two years away from the service in the 700 MHz band that went up for auction earlier this year. Both AT&T and Verizon invested heavily in the spectrum in all the markets. I think AT&T is planning on rolling out "LTE" in that spectrum ("Long Term Evolution"). Verizon has announced that they will have some installations done sometime in 2009. There are some technical challenges and the various OEMs making the base station radios are just getting started (lots of interference there). All the equipment will have to be brand new, so everything related to it will be new and dialed in with lots of eyes looking at it.

I don't have any inside knowledge into their business, but it seems like repairs after hurricane Ike took a lot of the capital money out of the rest of the country. I expect the regular 850 and 1900 MHz upgrades to resume after the first of the year, so there could be improvement in the first quarter.