Rural and remote communities are not always able to access the internet at broadband speeds because of the lack of deployed cable systems, and DSL services in their areas. Many of these communities will however be able to benefit from the revolution in wireless technologies by connecting wirelessly from their homes to a wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP).

Several years ago home users connected to the net using dial up modems at what now seem to be astonishingly slow data rates (2400 bits/second). Downloading files could take hours. Nowadays most home users have some kind of broadband (high speed) connection, and the applications which require those high rates have grown rapidly. People with broadband access now regularly download extremely large data files such as movies, music, streaming video, and they play online games which require very fast access. All these applications of the internet, and many other ones as well, would not be possible without broadband communications to the user’s home.

In most cases these broadband data rates are provided by cable and telecom companies over their proprietary networks. However there are many remote and rural communities which have never been served by cable companies: the cost of installing the cables is too high to service a small number of consumers. And although almost everyone has a landline telephone the distance from the central office (telephone exchange) means that many remote consumers cannot use technologies such as ADSL which provide broadband data transfer speeds over the telephone network.

This has caused large parts of the rural population to become excluded from high speed internet, and from the applications which that technology has made possible.

Nowadays Wireless ISPs have been formed in many rural areas. They take advantage of the opportunities created by advanced wireless technologies, and they use those technologies to bring broadband access to those in remote communities. It is currently believed that approximately three million US internet users are connecting via a wireless ISP, and approximately 100 WISPs are registered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The wireless connection from user to ISP is made by a radio link from the user’s home to the ISP’s transmission tower. Most likely the user will have his receiving equipment fitted high up on his residence, on an outside wall or on the chimney. This is needed to achieve good reception as the transmission tower can be a long distance away. The quality of reception is very important as it directly affects the data transfer rates which can be achieved between user and ISP.

Inside the home the customer can use a standard network such as a WiFi network, or an Ethernet to connect one or more PCs with the wireless equipment. A good wireless ISP should be able to provide the right help and guidance to get their customers’ systems operational and connected to the net.

The wireless technologies already exist allowing many new users to experience broadband internet access via wireless ISPs (WISPs). WISPs are also expanding into areas which still lack coverage. Another benefit of the technology is that internet access can be rapidly deployed into areas which have suffered infrastructure damage from hurricanes and other natural disasters.

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