From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: M Taylor Subject: Re: transparent internet via radio Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 15:06:06 +0100 Sender: linux-hams-owner@vger.kernel.org Message-ID: <20030825150606.A17749@pull.privacy.nb.ca> References: <1061769408.1126.98.camel@fluid.redwork.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Return-path: Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <1061769408.1126.98.camel@fluid.redwork.net>; from agilmore@shaw.ca on Sun, Aug 24, 2003 at 04:56:49PM -0700 List-Id: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: A Gilmore Cc: linux-hams@vger.kernel.org On Sun, Aug 24, 2003 at 04:56:49PM -0700, A Gilmore wrote: > Having always had high-speed internet available, I have never looked > into radio technology before. However, I have been asked recently if > providing internet to a number of locations (varying between 10-50km > > So I started looking into radio. I will have one LAN with broadband > internet, and remote LANs without any internet access. The idea is to > > Is this feasible? Can speed be in the 28kbps or better range? > Generally how much would the radio equipment cost? Is providing > transparent internet by these means difficult, regarding routing and > interfacing the protocols? Are you a licensed amateur radio (ham) operator? You don't mention a callsign, and some of your questions seem quite basic regarding VHF & higher propagation, which suggests perhaps you are not. Amateur radio in Canada and elsewhere has content restrictions and is for non-commercial usage, which are not agreeable to most people's general Internet usage. So for general wireless Internet access, I suspect that the amateur radio solution is not the best general solution. I would suggest looking into license-free/exempt "WiFi" or 802.11(b) wireless ethernet. These are low cost (cheaper than a commercial TNC in most cases) devices provide low power (often 100mW) 2.4 GHz (microwave) with speeds up to 11Mbps (802.11b) or higher (802.11g). With a clear line of sight, and a small directional antenna you can easily get a stable connection over 10km or more. I would not recommend consumer oriented 802.11b for a Wireless ISP (WISP) as they tend to have serious issues scaling, and the license-free status means you must tolerate intereference. See BC Wireless for more Canadian specific information: -ve1mct