Wireless ISP

[LandRover]

I live too far out for DSL right now. Dial-up (and satellite... ugh) have been the only options in my area. I've found out that I might be within range for a wireless service. If so, it would be $40 per month for 128k, or $55 for 256k access. Their installation is supposedly between $600 - $800. :shocked:

Does this sound typical for these sort of services? The installation seems quite steep to me, and $40 for 128k isn't all that great. Certainly way better than my dial-up though.

Any idea how these setups usually are for gaming?

Appreciate any input on the plus and minus of these sort of services, as dial-up is pretty depressing 😛

 

[Fardringle]

I imagine the pricing would vary somewhat depending on your location, but there are several different wireless ISP options in my area (near Salt Lake City, UT) and they all run about $35-40 per month for 256K or higher, and most of them have completely free installation. The ones that are not free charge $200 or less for their installation package. I would say that $600-$800 for installation is way too much unless they are giving you the equipment to keep permanently, and even then that's a lot. Especially if they want $40 per month for a 128K connection...

 

[randal]

Wow, they're bending you over. I spent some time at an ISP that had a pretty large wireless network and it was not even close to that expensive. We were in the $300-$350 range for installs (included the cost of the radio -- you could get it for $100 if you signed a contract/lease) and then $44.99/mo for 512/512.

As for gaming, they're decent enough if nobody is on. If anybody else starts hitting up the wireless, your pings will go up pretty linearly with line consumption -- if it's a 3mbps wireless deployment, your pings will be A-OK if everything is at ~1mbps of use, but as soon as it hits 2+ mbps your pings will start going way up.

 

[LandRover]

I just sent them an e-mail trying to get them to elaborate on their high installation charges. There's always the possibility that the person I spoke to on the phone had no idea what they were talking about. haha. That would be nice.

They most likely don't care about charging so much, because they know they are the only provider in the area. 🙁

 

[queequeg99]

There are too many factors at work to know what is going on. You need more information.

Many WISPs are very small and poorly funded. Depending on the type of equipment they are using, a lot of the cost of the install could be their out of pocket cost for equipment. For example, the newest 900mhz Motorala Canopy CPE units cost about $600 apiece in single units. Discounts generally become substantial only if you buy in lots of 100, which simply isn't possible for many smalled WISPs. Granted, the Motorola stuff is some of the most expensive out there, but you should get the point. It also appears that they are selling you the equipment (you're not leasing it). This can be an important issue in the event of equipment failure. It's one thing to go out and buy a new DSL or cable modem because your broke and is out of warranty. It's another to have to go out and buy a $500+ CPE unit.

The monthly recurring charges are a little more difficult to justify. Generally, T1 lines won't cost more than $600 a month even in the middle of nowhere and sometimes much less (we got one for $490 a month). At the price the WISP is charging, they would need just over a dozen customers to meet their access costs. Generally, they should be able to load a T1 with many more customers (at least 3-4 times as many if they block common p2p ports). That should provide a really nice margin. Again, however, the size of the WISP and its overhead will play a large role.

The killer in all of this, however, is market economics. If they're the only game in town, they can pretty much do what they want to a certain degree. A WISP in my area does the same thing (i.e. gouge) and I can hardly blame them. There is no competition now and none likely in the future. It got so bad that 8 of my neighbors and I now share a T1 line with Linksys off-the-shelf wireless equipment. The cost is reasonable (~$75 a month) and the speed is unbelieveable. There aren't any kids on the street who use p2p programs (mostly typical websurfing) so the end user effect is similar to each of us having an individual T1 line.

 

[titanmiller]

We are in the process of getting wireless. The monthly charge is $34.95 for 256/256 plus $150 to install it. After three years the cost goes down to $27.95 (equiptment is paid for). For every $10 you can get an additional 256k.