Towers are cheap.
From: David Coudron
Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 10:19 AM
To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] TV White Space
Hi folks,
Thanks for the feedback, this was what we were looking for. It looks like the
TVWS is a non-starter, but we should take another look at 900 MHz. We are
fortunate in that the areas are typically grouped very narrowly in one
direction. We figured we could cover the area with a 10 degree sector if we
could find one that narrow. We’ll see what we can find for 900 MHz equipment
out there.
Thanks,
David Coudron
From: AF <af-boun...@af.afmug.com> On Behalf Of Ken Hohhof
Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 10:43 AM
To: 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group' <af@af.afmug.com>
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] TV White Space
Oops, 26 MHz, not 28. 902-928.
From: AF <af-boun...@af.afmug.com> On Behalf Of Ken Hohhof
Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 9:50 AM
To: 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group' <af@af.afmug.com>
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] TV White Space
I keep hearing about Microsoft and its Airband initiative. I have no idea why
Microsoft thinks that TVWS has merit or what technology they bring to the
party, but I guess you could investigate it. I have to agree with the others,
it was never very attractive, and gets less so as time passes and people want
to do video streaming and Zoom meetings and download 100 GB games over the
Internet, and as other technologies advance.
I would also ask, what if Starlink actually works, and is months away from
general availability. It may not be a threat to WISPs in general (or maybe it
is), but it would seem to solve this particular problem. And what if Starlink
succeeds in getting RDOF or CAF subsidy money? Wouldn’t you just be lighting
hundred dollar bills on fire?
As far as 900 MHz, we stopped using it. The reason wasn’t so much RTK (a lot
of which is moving to 450 MHz anyway), but smartgrid and smartmeters. If the
power company or other utilities put in 900 MHz smartmeters, kiss 900 MHz
goodbye for broadband. The other problem was that it was always more art than
science, sometimes it wouldn’t work and the reasons wouldn’t be clear. It’s
touch to plan or troubleshoot when, by definition, you don’t have clear line of
sight. There’s also the issue of other WISPs in 900 MHz, but it sounds like
you wouldn’t have this issue.
But the Cambium 450 900 MHz stuff does work, and even though you only have 28
MHz total to work with, you can use a wide enough channel to get decent speeds.
We still have one AP in service with a handful of customers on it. I would
steer clear of 900 MHz omni antennas though. If you can’t justify sectors,
just don’t do it.
From: AF <af-boun...@af.afmug.com> On Behalf Of Bill Prince
Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 9:28 AM
To: af@af.afmug.com
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] TV White Space
If they are in a cluster, this could possibly be a viable option.
bp<part15sbs{at}gmail{dot}com>On 9/9/2020 7:25 AM, ch...@wbmfg.com wrote:
Get them to contribute to the cost of a tower in their area.
From: David Coudron
Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 7:52 AM
To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group
Subject: [AFMUG] TV White Space
We have a couple of areas in our network that remain problem coverage areas.
The typical scenario is a handful of customers that are 5-10 miles from a
decent tower structure, but really want service. We have usually either
passed on providing coverage, or messed around with relaying from other
customers or some other messy scenario. We are looking for a workable non-los
solution for these few spots. We don’t need to get dozens of folks on a
tower, and a higher than normal cost is OK, but it needs to be stable enough it
is better than the relays and other messy solutions we have come up with. We
keep looking at 900 MHz, but it looks like Cambium is the only one left in this
game, and we are pretty worried about noise as we are in the middle of farm
country and the RTK stuff is pretty prevalent. Has anyone had enough
experience with TV white space to develop an opinion on its ability to be used
in this situation? There only seems to be two vendors in this space, Redline
and Carlson, but maybe there are others we are missing. We are looking for a
solution that would cover customers 5-7 miles in non-los situations with rate
plans of 20-25 Mbps. Is this possible?
Regards,
David Coudron
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