IP Wireless modem

Hi,
I have recently got Wireless broadband, and have this wireless modem by
IPWireless:
http://www.ipwireless.com/products/modem.html

I was wondering if anyone out there has been experimenting with writing
their own software for this modem to get P2P networks going with them.
without looking to much into its specifications, i assume that its signal
would be fairly strong, and you could get a P2P network working over a few
kilometres ?
just a thought... if anyone has heard of any 'hacks' for this type of modem,
let me know

Cheers

Tim

Wow, this is a neat device. I just checked the web site. Can I ask what the
modem and ISP service cost?

This is basically a 3G cell modem that provides 3Mbps over very long
distances, through walls, for mobile users. You need a base station, which
IPWireless sells as a NodeB. They say it's "low cost", but it's intended for
ISPs and is probably not priced for home/SOHO use. The 3Mbps is no
accident - it's intended to compete directly with cable and DSL. The
standard (TD-CDMA) supports much higher datarates, but they can probably
make it cheaper at 3Mbps and it still has the advantage in range and
mobility. Plus, they have headroom to increase the datarate considerably,
while hell will freeze over before we get affordable higher rates in cable
or DSL.

If you had a NodeB at home, you'd be able to go up to 2.5km away in a moving
car and still probably be able to connect to your cable modem. If your ISP
is set up for "supercell" you could go as far as 30km.

There's a Swedish company called Possio that's making an 802.11 access point
that directly bridges an 802.11 lan to an IPWireless NodeB at the ISP. This
could be backhaul for a hotspot, or you might use it at home. If you want to
take your laptop on the road, you just slip the IPWireless modem card out of
the AP, pop it in your laptop, and away you go. Good stuff!

Check out the IPWireless web site and:

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/wimax/article.php/3071151

"Tim T" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:bosf3p$19fa$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi,
> I have recently got Wireless broadband, and have this wireless modem by
> IPWireless:
> http://www.ipwireless.com/products/modem.html
>
> I was wondering if anyone out there has been experimenting with writing
> their own software for this modem to get P2P networks going with them.
> without looking to much into its specifications, i assume that its signal
> would be fairly strong, and you could get a P2P network working over a
few
> kilometres ?
> just a thought... if anyone has heard of any 'hacks' for this type of
modem,
> let me know
>
> Cheers
>
> Tim
>
>

Just found an article about the Hyatt Regency in Maui deploying IPWireless
modems. They said 25 of them cost $10,000 - that's $400 apiece. Is that
right?

The ISP is called Maui Sky Fiber. They offer 768kbps at $349.95/month. I
guess at that price this stuff is not showing up in the home any time soon.

"Tim T" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:bosf3p$19fa$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi,
> I have recently got Wireless broadband, and have this wireless modem by
> IPWireless:
> http://www.ipwireless.com/products/modem.html
>
> I was wondering if anyone out there has been experimenting with writing
> their own software for this modem to get P2P networks going with them.
> without looking to much into its specifications, i assume that its signal
> would be fairly strong, and you could get a P2P network working over a
few
> kilometres ?
> just a thought... if anyone has heard of any 'hacks' for this type of
modem,
> let me know
>
> Cheers
>
> Tim
>
>

"gary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:mxlsb.235$(E-Mail Removed). ..

> Just found an article about the Hyatt Regency in Maui deploying
IPWireless
> modems. They said 25 of them cost $10,000 - that's $400 apiece. Is
that
> right?

I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but that figure
sounds like it includes other charges. MSF sales is selling the
modems for $300, not $400.

> The ISP is called Maui Sky Fiber. They offer 768kbps at
$349.95/month.

No, it's actually around $80 a month. Your figures probably include
other charges, since you're referring to a corporate account.

http://www.mauiskyfiber.com/pricing.html

"Maxie P. Diddy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> "gary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:mxlsb.235$(E-Mail Removed). ..
>
> > Just found an article about the Hyatt Regency in Maui deploying
> IPWireless
> > modems. They said 25 of them cost $10,000 - that's $400 apiece. Is
> that
> > right?
>
> I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but that figure
> sounds like it includes other charges. MSF sales is selling the
> modems for $300, not $400.

I extrapolated from a web article, in which Hyatt said the total cost for
25 was $10000. That may be a corporate price bundling some other costs, or
it may be that the article is old and the price has dropped. I'd give you
the URL, but I didn't bookmark it and I can't seem to find it.

>
> > The ISP is called Maui Sky Fiber. They offer 768kbps at
> $349.95/month.
>
> No, it's actually around $80 a month. Your figures probably include
> other charges, since you're referring to a corporate account.

My high figure was from the same web article. It distinguished a "mobile"
bitrate of 256k from a "fixed" user rate of 768k. Maybe the high price was
the corporate rate to Hyatt, guaranteeing the full 768kbps. I doubt if
residential and SOHO users get any guarantees.

According to your URL below, they offer "up to" 27x28k (= 756k) for SOHO @
$80/month, and "up to" 18x28k (about 500k) to residential @ $40/month. That
does sound impressive, if these bitrates are realistic.

A couple of questions I couldn't answer from their web site:

- Do these rates support mobile users? My guess is not. Still, it's a huge
advantage if I can take my laptop anywhere in a 7-mile radius and use it.

- The price contains a $10 "modem maintenance" fee. What's that about -
periodic upgrades? Remote diagnostic testing?

>
> http://www.mauiskyfiber.com/pricing.html
>
>

"gary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:r_ctb.649$(E-Mail Removed) y.com...
>
> "Maxie P. Diddy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > "gary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:mxlsb.235$(E-Mail Removed). ..
> >
> > > Just found an article about the Hyatt Regency in Maui deploying
> > IPWireless
> > > modems. They said 25 of them cost $10,000 - that's $400 apiece.
Is
> > that
> > > right?
> >
> > I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but that
figure
> > sounds like it includes other charges. MSF sales is selling the
> > modems for $300, not $400.
>
> I extrapolated from a web article, in which Hyatt said the total
cost for
> 25 was $10000. That may be a corporate price bundling some other
costs, or
> it may be that the article is old and the price has dropped.

That's probably true.


> I'd give you
> the URL, but I didn't bookmark it and I can't seem to find it.
>
> >
> > > The ISP is called Maui Sky Fiber. They offer 768kbps at
> > $349.95/month.
> >
> > No, it's actually around $80 a month. Your figures probably
include
> > other charges, since you're referring to a corporate account.
>
> My high figure was from the same web article. It distinguished a
"mobile"
> bitrate of 256k from a "fixed" user rate of 768k. Maybe the high
price was
> the corporate rate to Hyatt, guaranteeing the full 768kbps. I doubt
if
> residential and SOHO users get any guarantees.

I'm a SOHO user and my bandwidth is variable. Uploads are always
hovering aroudn 115k. I'm supposed to be getting 512k uploads but it
hasn't happened yet. I've gotten up to about 300k but no farther.
I'm still in the newbie stage, so I'm sure there is some configuration
on my end. I have a very strong feeling that I'm going to need to
reinstall XP due to other related issues surrounding SP1.


> According to your URL below, they offer "up to" 27x28k (= 756k) for
SOHO @
> $80/month, and "up to" 18x28k (about 500k) to residential @
$40/month.
> That
> does sound impressive, if these bitrates are realistic.
>
> A couple of questions I couldn't answer from their web site:
>
> - Do these rates support mobile users? My guess is not.

I'm not sure. I have enough trouble when I'm stationary, although
I've been happy with my Sprint wireless web while I'm mobile. It
seems to work quite nicely when I'm driving in the car. I haven't
tried MSF out on the road, yet, so I don't know - if that's what you
mean.

> Still, it's a huge
> advantage if I can take my laptop anywhere in a 7-mile radius and
use it.
>
> - The price contains a $10 "modem maintenance" fee. What's that
about -
> periodic upgrades? Remote diagnostic testing?

No, it's a rental fee for the modem - if you choose not to purchase
it.

"gary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:r_ctb.649$(E-Mail Removed) y.com...

> - Do these rates support mobile users?

Oh, one thing I forgot to tell you. The battery supposedly only lasts
an hour. That's pretty lame if you ask me. A one hour battery? Who
designed this thing? I'm going to look into a car adapter ASAP.

"Maxie P. Diddy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...

> I'm a SOHO user

Sorry, my mistake. No, I'm not a SOHO user. I'm a residential
customer.

> and my bandwidth is variable. Uploads are always
> hovering aroudn 115k. I'm supposed to be getting 512k uploads but it
> hasn't happened yet. I've gotten up to about 300k but no farther.

I just broke 384 tonight. Hopefully 400 tomorrow. We'll see.

"Maxie P. Diddy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> I'm a SOHO user and my bandwidth is variable. Uploads are always
> hovering aroudn 115k. I'm supposed to be getting 512k uploads but it
> hasn't happened yet. I've gotten up to about 300k but no farther.
> I'm still in the newbie stage, so I'm sure there is some configuration
> on my end. I have a very strong feeling that I'm going to need to
> reinstall XP due to other related issues surrounding SP1.

I see from another post of yours that you got up to 400k. Still, it sounds
like your average speed is a little low. It would be interesting to find out
what the primary reason for that is. Have you used www.pcpitstop.com or
similar service to measure throughput? If you're just going by file transfer
times, that's not reliable. You'll be bottlenecked by the server load and
possibly the server's connection to the internet. If your bandwidth is
supposed to be symmetric (i.e. you are supposed to get 500k in both
directions) try sending a long file to yourself over the net. Not sure how
to do that using XP, but there must be a way.

Do you think there are many other subscribers in your area? The reason I ask
is that I'm pretty sure they use statistical multiplexing, which means that
the bandwidth can be oversubscribed. Might be interesting to see if the
datarates differ predictably with time of day.

Their signal is supposed to be good at penetrating buildings, trees, etc.,
and is claimed to be not weather-sensitive, so LOS shouldn't be much of an
issue (though I notice that offer an external antenna as an $80 option).

> > - Do these rates support mobile users? My guess is not.
>
> I'm not sure. I have enough trouble when I'm stationary, although
> I've been happy with my Sprint wireless web while I'm mobile. It
> seems to work quite nicely when I'm driving in the car. I haven't
> tried MSF out on the road, yet, so I don't know - if that's what you
> mean.

Just driving in a car or bus was what I had in mind.

>
> > Still, it's a huge
> > advantage if I can take my laptop anywhere in a 7-mile radius and
> use it.
> >
> > - The price contains a $10 "modem maintenance" fee. What's that
> about -
> > periodic upgrades? Remote diagnostic testing?
>
> No, it's a rental fee for the modem - if you choose not to purchase
> it.

So if you buy the modem, the monthly price for residential drops to $30?

>
>

"gary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:QAstb.819$(E-Mail Removed).. .
>
> "Maxie P. Diddy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > I'm a SOHO user and my bandwidth is variable. Uploads are always
> > hovering aroudn 115k. I'm supposed to be getting 512k uploads but
it
> > hasn't happened yet. I've gotten up to about 300k but no farther.
> > I'm still in the newbie stage, so I'm sure there is some
configuration
> > on my end. I have a very strong feeling that I'm going to need to
> > reinstall XP due to other related issues surrounding SP1.
>
> I see from another post of yours that you got up to 400k. Still, it
sounds
> like your average speed is a little low.

I apologize. I do not have SOHO service. I have residential, which
is lower.

> Have you used www.pcpitstop.com or similar service to measure
throughput?

Yes, I have. I get around 115k upload and around 400 download. I'm
supposed to get around 500 download.


> Do you think there are many other subscribers in your area? The
reason I ask
> is that I'm pretty sure they use statistical multiplexing, which
means that
> the bandwidth can be oversubscribed. Might be interesting to see if
the
> datarates differ predictably with time of day.

Yes, it runs faster late at night.

> > > - Do these rates support mobile users? My guess is not.
> >
> > I'm not sure. I have enough trouble when I'm stationary, although
> > I've been happy with my Sprint wireless web while I'm mobile. It
> > seems to work quite nicely when I'm driving in the car. I haven't
> > tried MSF out on the road, yet, so I don't know - if that's what
you
> > mean.
>
> Just driving in a car or bus was what I had in mind.

I have no idea. I just know that I browse the web with a Sprint 3G
phone when I'm driving. That works great, btw.

>
> > > - The price contains a $10 "modem maintenance" fee. What's that
> > about -
> > > periodic upgrades? Remote diagnostic testing?
> >
> > No, it's a rental fee for the modem - if you choose not to
purchase
> > it.
>
> So if you buy the modem, the monthly price for residential drops to
$30?

No, it drops to $40. $30 is the price for
students/military/educators.