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Bean Machine

Bean Machine

Member
Maybe the fine folks of SOMD forums can help me with an issue. The building where I work has an internet issue. It's basically non existent. Getting cable would solve the problem, however it would cost (according to Atlantic Broadband) $16,000 to run the cable across St Andrews Church Rd to get it to the building, which is too much. We have tried satellite internet in the past but it was too unreliable. We do get cell (Verizon Wireless) but not the strongest reception. Although there is a fiber optic cable buried along the road, FiOS is not available. The DSL we have now is worthless. Are there any other viable solutions?
 
GWguy

GWguy

*
Ken King said:
Full building signal booster. Wilson Amplifier makes them (might be marketed as Weboost).
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That would have been my suggestion. Make sure it's dual-band.

There used to be a local company that provided high-speed directional WiFi, don't know if they exist anymore. Do a search for 'directional wifi' . You might be able to build your own point-to-point network.
 
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BernieP

Resident PIA
Bean Machine said:
Maybe the fine folks of SOMD forums can help me with an issue. The building where I work has an internet issue. It's basically non existent. Getting cable would solve the problem, however it would cost (according to Atlantic Broadband) $16,000 to run the cable across St Andrews Church Rd to get it to the building, which is too much. We have tried satellite internet in the past but it was too unreliable. We do get cell (Verizon Wireless) but not the strongest reception. Although there is a fiber optic cable buried along the road, FiOS is not available. The DSL we have now is worthless. Are there any other viable solutions?
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I'm not sure the other suggestions understood, you don't have high speed internet service to the building - period.
Welcome to St. Mary's County. You have three options:
1. Pay Atlantic Broadband the $16,000 plus to run the wire and hopefully hook you up correctly. Then hire someone to set up your internal network (hard wire / Wi Fi) to suit your business needs (and allow for growth.

2. Stay with DSL (it is slow, not really suitable for business use but it's better than nothing. Suggest you limit access to essential operations. Again, hire someone to set up your network internally. Inquire how much Verizon would charge for additional lines to be run (hopefully cheaper than $16,000).

3. Either Verizon Wireless or AT&T might be able to supply a cellular broadband connection. Both are now pushing their 5G service.
Your choice would depend on cost and availability of service.

I guess in all cases I would bring someone in to set up your internal network, whether you want wireless or wired. Firewall, routers, switches, etc.
 
Goldenhawk

Goldenhawk

Well-Known Member
Satellite internet may be feasible. It offers pretty high download speeds (nearly as good as cable), but lousy upload speeds and fairly high latency (the elapsed time between when you request something and when the system answers).

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(and others)

I remember that some time ago, if you had an existing (even if slow) DSL connection, it could be set up to work together so that the upload query is sent via DSL, and then the downloaded data would come back over satellite. This gives half the latency and much higher speed downloading large files than DSL. You'd have to explore this with the satellite internet company. The term "return channel" may be useful to ask them - "Can I use my DSL as a return channel for the satellite receiver?" It's also sometimes called "hybrid".

I will say that anything that requires a lot of back-and-forth (like checking email) can be laggy and painful with satellite. But downloading large files is painless.

Also, it's a little ways out, but SpaceX plans to launch the first few StarLink satellites later this month. Eventually, as StarLink and other competitors come on line, everyone will have access to truly wireless, truly broadband speeds. Because the satellites are orbiting MUCH lower (500-1000 miles) than the traditional geosynchronous satellites (22,000 miles), the latencies are FAR lower. Not quite good enough for playing games like Fortnight, but otherwise comparable to cable internet for all browsing and downloading purposes.
 
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BernieP

Resident PIA
I would say satellite internet is not where I would put my money. First you have environmental issues to deal with (weather, sun spots, foliage, etc)
Satellite time is expensive and frequency allocations are getting tight. DirecTV (under AT&T seems to have moved some of the programming once available via the dish, to internet access only. It seemed every "IN-DEMAND" program was going out over the internet to download. PPV and IN-DEMAND became unusable features with DSL. It took to long to download that the DVR would timeout.
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
A huge part of the cable charge is trenching and a silly upcharge on the materials. I have heard of people hiring out the trenching to an independant, as long as you ensure the trench and backfill meet code, and purchasing the proper spec spooled cable. I'm sure ABB wont tell you that's an option, but I have heard of it being down. God knows when they replaced the cable coming into my house they didnt dig the Taj Mahal of friken ditches.


EDIT EDIT EDIT: Sorry, missed the part about "under the road". Never mind.
 
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hitchicken

Active Member
Okay, this is a long shot, probably won't work and might get you in trouble. Find a friendly someone on the other side of St. Andrews Church Rd located as short a distance, line of sight, as possible from your building. Offer to pay that someone's internet cable bill and then install wifi with a wifi booster. High up. Line of sight. Unobstructed. Install a good router in your building or an 'outhouse' building strategically located with power and run RG53 from there into your business. 300' feet over the air (unimpeded view) is typical. You might eek out a little more.

I did NOT suggest this illicit and probably unlawful suggestion. I know nutting... I know nutting...

You can also buy directional antennas for some wifi devices or make your own wifi reflector out of foil to send the signal in a particular direction.
 
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Goldenhawk

Goldenhawk

Well-Known Member
What about 4G broadband - basically a super-souped-up tethered cell connection.
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hitchicken said:
You can also buy directional antennas for some wifi devices or make your own wifi reflector out of foil to send the signal in a particular direction.
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I have read more than a few accounts of people building directional antennas and getting crazy-good results. Probably worth a shot. There are ready-to-use options for this:
[URL="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B076KRTXQ6"]www.amazon.com/dp/B076KRTXQ6[/URL]
"Range is about 3 miles" - using a pair of these, one on each end.

Not illegal, but almost certainly against the ABB terms of service. And a business use might overwhelm the homeowner's bandwidth... but as a stopgap it might work. And you might be able to actually sign up for a business-class plan with them if they know you're trying to do this... it's possible you could do it fully above-board.
 
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BernieP

Resident PIA
4G is good, but 5G is better and both AT&T and Verizon are rolling it out. I don't have the cost, but I know people who had that canister in their home because it was the only way they could afford broadband - they had the same offer from the then Metrocast, a $20,000 offer to run the cable into their development (small, just off 235) and then their house.
I think they said it was the equivalent of 4 cell phones (with a little more antenna power since it's plugged in (not battery).
 
Goldenhawk

Goldenhawk

Well-Known Member
"5G is a lie." Just Google that phrase for some fun reading.

5G is basically not going to help anyone more than a few blocks away from cell towers - thus only in downtown inner cities. The new frequency band it uses (when it's ACTUALLY 5G and not just AT&T marketing hype over a slightly-polished 4G) has much shorter range, due to the higher frequencies and susceptibility to signal blocking and interference.
 
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BernieP

Resident PIA
Goldenhawk said:
"5G is a lie." Just Google that phrase for some fun reading.

5G is basically not going to help anyone more than a few blocks away from cell towers - thus only in downtown inner cities. The new frequency band it uses (when it's ACTUALLY 5G and not just AT&T marketing hype over a slightly-polished 4G) has much shorter range, due to the higher frequencies and susceptibility to signal blocking and interference.
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Shorter range yes, but UWB is a very high frequency technology that is used to pass data from a nuclear reactor core to external monitoring stations using ultra high frequencies. It's short range and low power and carries a hell of a lot of data.
 
Goldenhawk

Goldenhawk

Well-Known Member
Agreed, it CAN carry a lot of data. The key is "short range." Great if you're in downtown Manhattan and there are cell sites every few hundred feet.

Here?

Not so much.
 
black dog

black dog

Free America
What about hiring a directional bore crew and shoot a bore from the building under the road to the pole or box, and pull back a pipe to use as conduit. Then have Verizon pull the necessary cable through the conduit.
 
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alicejohn

Member
Who owns the building? If the business owner does not own the building, talk to the landlord about installing internet. If they refuse, move. The landlord is going to have a hard time leasing a building without internet service.

If the business owner owns the building, perhaps they can look for small business grants or loans to make the upgrade. If there are other property owners near the building which will benefit from the upgrade, investigate spreading the cost among the owners.
 
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