From: invalid@see.sig.telecom-digest.org   
      
   On 10/17/2020 7:13 PM, Steve Marquess wrote:   
   > ...   
   > So when my $22K T1 contract came up for renewal in late 2016 I decided   
   > to spend a small fortune on an antenna tower for line-of-sight access   
   > to local WISPs (I live in rough terrain).  That has been much more   
   > reliable, not to mention way cheaper.   
   >   
   Several years ago, Verizon said that they'd be discontinuing their T1   
   service. A couple of years ago the FCC lifted their "carrier of last   
   resort" obligation for it. So basically they haven't bothered to go   
   around disconnecting working lines, but they're deteriorating in the   
   field and can't be trusted the way they used to be. Verizon's usual   
   answer is that they have FiOS in some places offering high-speed   
   Internet service you can watch TV on... but that has nothing to do with   
   what T1s are often used for. In particular, our local public safety   
   agencies use them for remote receivers on repeaters, so fire fighters'   
   walkie-talkies can be heard from fire scenes even when trapped in   
   basements. That has nothing to do with watching reruns on Hulu, which   
   seems to be what VZ wants you to buy instead. They basically took out   
   the copper plant and replaced it with an entertainment medium that   
   doesn't replace all of the old uses.   
      
   This does lead to a push to use more private microwave solutions. We've   
   replaced Verizon repeater backhauls with a mix of licensed and   
   unlicensed microwave here. You'd be amazed what you can do unlicensed if   
   you know what you're doing, though you really do have to know what   
   you're doing or at least run it by someone who does, since some vendors   
   will happily sell you a bill of goods. And unlicensed links need   
   maintenance to check that they're not being clobbered by interference --   
   you may sometimes want to change frequency, especially on the popular 5   
   GHz band.   
      
   The Wireless ISP industry has come a long way in 20 years. Its vendors   
   have gone through multiple generations (not the same as mobile G's!) of   
   technology. Fixed outdoor (WISP) gear is not the same as fixed indoor   
   (WLAN, like Wi-Fi) or mobile. It's a category of its own. The biggest   
   unlicensed-band equipment vendors in the US market are probably Cambium   
   Networks (spun out of Motorola almost a decade ago), Ubiquiti, and   
   Mimosa. MikroTik is a major radio-gear player in, uh, developing   
   countries, but mainly a major router and switch player in the US.   
      
   Point to point and point to multipoint are different too -- with PtP,   
   both ends have a highly directional antenna, while PtMP typically pairs   
   a highly directional client radio with a sector. On 5 GHz, power limits   
   for PtP use are highest, so you can easily shoot 10 miles with a pair of   
   2-foot dishes, if you have line of sight. If there's clutter (trees or   
   buildings) in the way, though, all bets are off -- 5 GHz gets through a   
   little bit of wood but not a lot. I do blast it through clutter on some   
   short links though.   
      
   Disclaimer: The Wireless ISP Association (WISPA) is my client; I'm their   
   FCC Technical Consultant.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)