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I need a great rural wifi provider. In Colorado where I spend a lot of time you have a choice of 1 or two providers (we can choose between mho.net or skybeam) a

I need a great rural wifi provider. In Colorado where I spend a lot of time you have a choice of 1 or two providers (we can choose between mho.net or skybeam) and their service is sub-par. MHO seems to work to lose you as a customer with quotes like "Well I see that you're getting 1 Mbps instead of the 5 we sold you but I just don't see a problem on this end". I've actually confirmed the sucky bandwidth with iperf and one of their techs, but they still won't fix it. Skybeam seem to be the better provider and are booked a month out for new installations. They all provide up to 5 mbps max. It seems that there are a few legacy providers in the area that are resting on their existing customer base. All the technology is wireless with directional antennas that look like small satellite dishes. Seems like a great oppty for recurring revenue with relatively low startup costs.

zdw 16y ago
I'm in southern arizona, and I've talked to a bunch of people who run WISP's. The big issue is line of site, which is required to get a good connection with the 2.4Ghz tech. In areas with large flat plains getting the signal out without really tall towers is hard just due to the curvature of the earth. The other problem is what people are willing to pay for - the equipment required for the distances involved isn't that cheap. Plus, service and maintenance is always an issue. The last mile is hard to do, and often a regulatory monopoly. Honestly this is one place where government intervention (requiring line providers be common carriers, mandating and bankrolling network infrastructure projects, etc.) could be helpful.