dbd33

It's a line-of-sight system using devices typically installed on silos, explornet, and zingnet are a couple of providers. If it works where you are it's cheaper and better than satellite. It has some set up costs, less than satellite but still $800 or so. After that it's about twice as much as the basic Bell/Rogers service. I assume that since both Bell and Rogers are shitty companies the actual bill is way bigger than their quoted price and there are all manner of catches and snags with their service, otherwise there'd be no niche for microwave.

dollface

Before the advent of fiber optic transmission, most long distance telephone calls were carried via microwave point-to-point links through sites like the AT&T Long Lines. Starting in the early 1950s, frequency division multiplex was used to send up to 5,400 telephone channels on each microwave radio channel, with as many as ten radio channels combined into one antenna for the hop to the next site, up to 70 km away.
Wireless LAN protocols, such as Bluetooth and the IEEE 802.11 specifications, also use microwaves in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, although 802.11a uses ISM band and U-NII frequencies in the 5 GHz range. Licensed long-range (up to about 25 km) Wireless Internet Access services have been used for almost a decade in many countries in the 3.5–4.0 GHz range. The FCC recently carved out spectrum for carriers that wish to offer services in this range in the U.S.-with emphasis on 3.65GHZ. Dozens of service providers across the country are securing or have already received licenses from the FCC to operate in this band. The WIMAX service offerings that can be carried on the 3.65GHZ band will give business customers another option for connectivity.
Metropolitan Area Networks: MAN protocols, such as WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) based in the IEEE 802.16 specification. The IEEE 802.16 specification was designed to operate between 2 to 11 GHz. The commercial implementations are in the 2.3GHz, 2.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz ranges.
Wide Area Mobile Broadband Wireless Access: MBWA protocols based on standards specifications such as IEEE 802.20 or ATIS/ANSI HC-SDMA (e.g. iBurst) are designed to operate between 1.6 and 2.3 GHz to give mobility and in-building penetration characteristics similar to mobile phones but with vastly greater spectral efficiency.
Cable TV and Internet access on coaxial cable as well as broadcast television use some of the lower microwave frequencies. Some mobile phone networks, like GSM, also use the lower microwave frequencies.
Microwave radio is used in broadcasting and telecommunication transmissions because, due to their short wavelength, highly directive antennas are smaller and therefore more practical than they would be at longer wavelengths (lower frequencies). There is also more bandwidth in the microwave spectrum than in the rest of the radio spectrum; the usable bandwidth below 300 MHz is less than 300 MHz while many GHz can be used above 300 MHz. Typically, microwaves are used in television news to transmit a signal from a remote location to a television station from a specially equipped van.
Most satellite communications systems operate in the C, X, Ka, or Ku Bands of the microwave spectrum. These frequencies allow large bandwidth while avoiding the crowded UHF frequencies and staying below the atmospheric absorption of EHF frequencies. Satellite TV either operates in the C band for the traditional large dish Fixed Satellite Service or Ku band for Direct Broadcast Satellite. Military communications run primarily over X or Ku Band links, with Ka band being used for Milstar

iaink

Little squaerial thing that needs line of sight to the nearest relay station in place of copper transmission lines... Not sure who the local providers are...eagle.ca in northumberland are a friends provider, and I know there is something similar in campbelford... Ive seen a few aerials around, so someone is doing it...

Cdnshaz

gonna give it a quick google and see if in our area

dbd33

It'll be in the area but you a test at your specific site, the potential provider sends someone to stand in your garden and waggle his equipment. You can't arrange it in advance.

iaink

Its in "the area" for sure, but they need to come out and check for line of sight. Trees / hills etc can get in the way.

The dongle thing is cheaper and more practical I suspect, but again, it depends what your local signal strength is. With the dongle you can take it any place you want to go and potentially have a connection...Xplorenet etc is fixed to your house. I would contact TAS or DeCastris in Belleville. Failing that the Kerbys (Quinte Business Systems) in Stirling were into the satelite thing.

dollface

Oh er Mrs............

Cdnshaz

well technically will be in Springbrook out in country, house totally surrounded by trees on all directions...

well from the sounds of things, glad he is paying for it, I did warn him that it was a lot more expensive there then in uk..

didn't know TAS did internet, my friend works there must ask her..

iaink

Im not entirely sure they do, but the guy who came out to us suggested talking to them about improving our reception of the cell signal to make the USB adapter method a better bet... He said a few people had done that, but didnt elaborate.

If she has anything positive to say, let me know!

Cdnshaz

TAS are only an answering service but they do provide towers for out of the way areas to their customers as we used them where I used to work...and had to have a tower put up.

will ask my friend

Canada is a great place to live but boy are they behind in internet services and mobile services...electrics all the way round!

AlexInBC

Wow - that's expensive setup! Our microwave high-speed internet provider charges $150 for the installation. We pay just over $63 per month for a pretty slow connection, but it's way faster than dial-up, which is our only alternative (other than satellite, which was far more expensive.)