If some casual free user clicks on an FBI honeypot link, the FBI will be coming to beat down your door, not theirs. That is one good reason for some control over a hotspot portal. You might consider something to log macs of your hotspot users too for the same reason.
You can do lots of APs and BHs all collocated without interference. Depends on the vendors and bands and synchronization features but it isn't difficult at all. For example you could backhaul with nanostations at 5.8 and use 2.4 nanostations for the APs. No interference there. Personally I use nothing but Canopy but that won't help out your 802.11 users. I wholesale to a guy like you that got a RUS grant. His headaches are multiplied by the strings attached to the grant and the additional problems of being a non-profit. Yes, he got some cash to get started, but he still doesn't have enough revenue to make it worth his time and he has to maintain a community center for low income users. I have another guy that has 100 subs and is so sick and tired of trying to keep the thing working while earning a living working for another company that he is shopping around for someone to give his company to. You have to bill and collect and install and disconnect and repair and do all of the front end operations whether you have 100 or 10,000 subscribers. Takes the same systems and same headaches. WISP operation is not, never has been and never will be "easy money". ----- Original Message ----- From: "Japhy Bartlett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2008 11:33 AM Subject: Re: [WISPA] Feasibility of a "non-profit" WISP > I've gotten a couple private responses to this thread, so I'd like to > throw out a few more things: > > The overwhelming advice though, seems to be to avoid mesh. ( Also, > Tony Morella of demarctech pointed out that I misunderstood the olsrd > literature.. sheesh. ) > > So, I'm basically working in a pretty dense, suburban/urban area, > sitting in a valley. From where I'm typing, I've basically got clear > LoS to the major areas I'm trying to cover, maybe 20 square miles. My > logic was that to provide consistent coverage over all of it, I'd need > 3 or 4 overlapping APs.. which seems ideal for a mesh setup. > > If I'm using a dual radio backhaul/AP setup, am I going to get > interference between the units? > > What's the difference between WDS and mesh? > > A few people have mentioned that the standard for free access is to > have users pass through a portal with some sort of legal disclaimer. > Is there actually any legal precedent for suing a hotspot provider > over the actions of a user? I guess I'm just being naive, but that > seems.. silly. > > Regarding CALEA - I understand recording VoIP for the authorities, but > what are your responsibilities before you receive s request for that? > Just to have the tools in place? > > A lot of people mention using DSL instead of a T1. There is a very > large international corporation headquartered here, renting their > internet T1s for $20/mo (!!!). Most likely, as a service to the > community, they'll be able to negotiate a similar price for me. At a > rate that low, it just makes a lot of sense, but I am getting quotes > from the DSL providers. > > On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 8:05 PM, Chuck McCown - 2 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: >> My question for you is "why"? 100 users are enough to be a headache and >> use >> up all your free time but not enough to even pay you for your time or >> investment. > > (Did I mention I'm writing a grant proposal for this? Cue the strings :) > > It's not really about money. As a state, Michigan is fighting to keep > people from moving away, and as a city Benton Harbor is struggling to > retain or attract the kind of talented people that can sustain some > sort of economy. In the meantime, most of our citizens are > poor/unemployed and uneducated. Providing internet access is a good > way (imho) to at least open some doors for them, and put another > bullet point in the list of reasons to come visit/live. > > > Anyhow, thanks a ton for putting up with stupid questions. The advice > from this list is invaluable. > > Japhy > > >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Japhy Bartlett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]> >> Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 5:44 PM >> Subject: [WISPA] Feasibility of a "non-profit" WISP >> >> >> > Hi all- >> > >> > I'm finishing up a grant proposal to build a wireless network for a >> > smallish (2 sq. mile) neighborhood. My only real experience is having >> > read this mailing list for a year or so, and independently researching >> > via the internet, so I'm hoping some of you veterans can offer some >> > insight before I get in too deep! >> > >> > The basic, mile-high premise is to build a 2.4ghz mesh network, using >> > Linux, or at least Open Source Software, wherever possible. I'm >> > pretty comfy with Linux, and it seems like the route a non-profit >> > should take. >> > >> > Since the idea is to be providing access not only to locals, but also >> > to people visiting (it's a mixed commercial/residential area), >> > sticking to the 802.11b/g protocol seems like a good way to make sure >> > strangers can get on with whatever gear they've already got. >> > >> > Specifically, I'm looking at gear that would run olsrd >> > (http://olsr.org); more specifically, demarctech.com's RWR HPG units >> > (https://www.demarctech.com/products/reliawave-rwr/rwr-hpg-15a.htm). >> > >> > The "business" model is to offer capped speeds for free, and uncapped >> > speeds to subscribers. So, presumably I'm going to need to do some >> > traffic shaping. >> > >> > the RWR unit lists both "OLSRD Mesh" and "Bi-Directional Traffic >> > Shaping with QoS (VoIP) via IP or MAC" , so it would seem to be ideal! >> > But how do those features play together? Can I assume that the unit >> > is running some sort of *nix with a shell? More importantly, am I >> > going to be able to script something that will link the traffic shaper >> > with a database of MAC Addresses? (Or script something to assign IP >> > address subgroups based on MAC!) >> > >> > Anybody ever done this before, or have a better solution for a tiered >> > network? >> > >> > I'm estimating that we'll have 100 users tops. A while back I looked >> > up ratios and figured that a T1 would probably be enough bandwidth for >> > something that size, but what else do I need in my NOC? Can I get by >> > with a Linux box, or do I need a heavy-duty router? >> > >> > I suppose a lot of this is best answered by the vendor, but it's nice >> > to hear from someone who isn't simultaneously trying to sell you >> > something. Any criticisms/anecdotes/advice are greatly appreciated! >> > Who's going to sue me and for what?! >> > >> > Cheers, >> > >> > Japhy >> > >> > Benton Harbor, MI >> > >> > >> >> >> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> > WISPA Wants You! Join today! >> > http://signup.wispa.org/ >> > >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> > >> > WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >> > >> > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >> > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >> > >> > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >> > >> >> >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> WISPA Wants You! 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