When an Internet Service Provider (ISP) considers branching into wireless services, they - quite reasonably worry that

they are entering into a new area of technology, with a fresh learning curve that they must go
through before they have enough familiarity with the subject to be comfortable making decisions about what to
install, who to serve, etc. Becoming a Wireless Internet Service Provider (W-ISP) means entering a new technical
area with new terminology, standard installation practices and opportunities to make mistakes. But for those
who have already mastered the dial-up telephone network, telecom wiring, IP addressing plans, cross-domain
routing, and telco provisioning, wireless installations should be fairly simple.

Standard Practices
Wireless access systems have several components to them. There are hub sites (access points) with
omnidirectional (or sectorized) antennas, and there are subscriber sites with directional antennas. The hub sites
may be on a tower built for the purpose by the service provider, they may be on the roof of a building where the
service provider has leased access rights, or they may be sharing a tower installed by someone else. Similarly,
the subscriber sites may be on a dwelling or business building owned by the subscriber, or on a building where
the subscriber has rented the premises. These situations all provide different factors that must be
accommodated in a solution, but good installation practices have many features in common across all of these
situations.

Building a Tower
Wireless Internet access devices operate in microwave frequency bands that require line of sight between
transmitter and receiver. This means that the antenna at the access point must be above the "ground clutter" of
adjacent buildings and trees. Typically, this means that it must either be on the tallest building in the area, on a
hilltop or on a tower. In the USA, a 50 foot tower can be erected for about $3,000, using modular tower sections
available from such companies as Wade. If you are near an airport, you will need FAA approval as well as the
usual construction permits.

Mounting an Antenna to a Building

Antennas come with hardware fittings to attach to a 1-1/2" (about 40 mm) diameter pole. The most common
type of pole is a 1-1/2" electrical conduit pipe of galvanized steel, available in 10 foot lengths at most building
supply stores. The best way to attach the pole to a building is to attach two pieces of steel mounting channel
("Uni-Strut", TechStrut, Kindorf or Allied Tube) to the face of the building using 5/8" lag screws into the 2"x4"
studs in the wall, and then attach the pole to the channel using a channel clamp that hooks into the channel.
The channel has a continuous open slot on the front, and elongated holes on the back This makes it possible to
take the antenna down, move it, or otherwise reconfigure it without touching the lag screws thereby reopening
the structure to moisture seeps. The strut is also available in 10 ft lengths at most building supply stores.

RF Cable Connectors
Wireless equipment includes RF cables; typically co-axial cable of various types. For wireless data equipment,
50 ohm cables are always used (Cable TV uses 75 ohm cables). Just as ethernet cabling uses BNC connectors for
10base2 and RJ45 connectors for 10baseT and 100baseT, so does RF have its standard connectors, invented in
the 1940s by Messrs Neill and Councelman for the US Navy.
Antennas tend to use the fairly large N series connectors. Each of these connectors comes in different versions
for different cable diameters. If you do any significant amount of radio installations, you will need to be able to
put connectors on your coax cables after pulling them. Just like modular telecom connectors, these are crimped
on with tools to match the specific connector type, and you MUST do it right, or your equipment will not work
reliably.

Designing your Coverage Area

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As you roll out wireless service, you need to define your service area. As indicated above, all subscribers must
have line of sight from their antenna to your access point. Since most areas have some amount of trees that are
higher than the buildings in the area, there is no access point that can be guaranteed to be seen by all. With a
VINE system such as the Win Router 2050, however, any radio can be set up as a repeater, and it is often
possible to find an alternate access point.

Antenna Types
For each node in the network, it is important to select the optimal antenna. In general, the preferred antenna for
subscriber locations is a high-gain directive antenna. Using such an antenna with a tightly focused beam allows
maximum link distance with a minimum of RF power emitted, thereby minimizing interference with other access
points. In some installations, however, its appearance may be unacceptable, and for locations near an access
point a smaller antenna (with lower gain and less focused beam) may need to be substituted.

Sharing an Antenna Site

In many areas, there are a few obvious sites for locating access points: Towers or hilltops with a commanding
view of the area, where other antenna systems such as cellphone base stations, broadcast stations or paging
transmitters are already located, and where antenna mounting space and shelter space for equipment can be
rented for reasonable fees. Such sites should definitely be considered, but they may not be your best choice.
Where many radio systems are located in close proximity, you are likely to encounter interference between
services. This can lead to poor signal-to-noise ratios that limit the effective link distance that can be obtained.
Before selecting such a site for your access point, you must perform a spectrum scan and test the coverage
area.

Performing Site Surveys

Due to the unpredictability of "ground clutter" obstructions, it is advisable to perform a site survey before
committing to serve a customer. Generally, this involves the following steps:
1. Identify the address to be served.
2. Look it up on a street map and a topographical map.
3. Identify any topographical obstructions on the path between the customer location. This is easy with an
interactive topographical map.
4. This will show you whether any hills prevent line-of-sight, but it will not show buildings or trees.
5. Visit the site, identify possible antenna mounting locations.
6. If possible, put your head where the antenna will be and visually verify a clear line of sight.
7. If possible, bring a radio with a small low-gain directional antenna and verify that it will attach to the network.

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