From: clj@remove-this.jacksons.net   
      
   On 10/24/2020 5:30 AM, Steve Marguess wrote:   
   > The tower cost about $30K for materials and subcontracted services   
   > (permits, geotechnical survey, crane rental). I saved another $30K (at   
   > least) by doing all the erection myself, from foundation excavation and   
   > pour to tower assembly (many manweeks of labor). If I had just written   
   > a check I think it would have cost me at least $70K. The full process,   
   > from getting the permit (non-trivial), the engineered design and   
   > fabrication, foundation prep and assembly and erection, spanned a good   
   > year and a half. Note I already owned a backhoe and forklift, both of   
   > which were essential and heavily utilized. Also tools like a transit,   
   > also essential.   
   >   
   > That sounds expensive, and it was, but my company paid for it as a   
   > business expense and keep in mind I was paying over $7K a year for the   
   > T1 line. So payback is (counting my own labor as free) only about five   
   > years. That's assuming the T1 service was viable, which at that point   
   > it wasn't.   
   >   
   > The WISP I'm using via the tower charges me $80 a month for 10Mb service   
   > (up and down), which has been pretty solid.   
   >   
   > An additional significant bonus was that I put a cellular repeater on   
   > the top of the tower, and for the first time ever cell phones are now   
   > usable in the house (not in the yard, unfortunately). I have some   
   > nearby neighbors (right next door and right across the street for   
   > instance) with a zero bar cell signal, and that's a real hassle when   
   > POTS service isn't usable either.   
   >   
   > Well, I've been very pleased with how it turned out. A big gamble, in   
   > time and effort, but it paid off. So I think I'd do it again, more or   
   > less as-is, even knowing how much work it turned out to be.   
   >   
   > -Steve M.   
      
   I realize that you built this a few years ago, but it seems to me that   
   satellite service might have been a good alternative.   
      
   https://order.viasatbusiness.com/s/   
      
   For $400/month ViaSat provides an (up to) 35 down/4 up service and 200   
   GB/month of usage---aimed at businesses. If you figure 10 hour work days   
   and 20 work days per month, you couldn't get 200 GB through a T1.   
      
   Did you consider satellite? If so, what made you choose microwave?   
      
   Chuck   
      
   --   
   Charles L. Jackson   
   clj@jacksons.net   
   +1 301 656 8716   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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