Internet Solution - Too Radical?

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tony1679

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So to somewhat branch off of my other thread, I have a problem with ISPs and their lack of service in my area. Literally my only options are two WiMax companies (which are expensive and/or slow), or to (somehow) convince AT&T to run lines to my house. I've been barking up this AT&T tree for a while now, and I'm at the point where I'm not continuing to put milk and cookies out. So thinking about my WiMax options, I thought about how they work, which led to an idea.

Is it possible to get internet service from someone "in town" who has a great ISP/service, then using a "WiMax-like" device, transmit that connection to my house? After all, that is the core of WISPs. I'm just looking to do the same thing on a personal scale.

My buddy lives about 5 miles away where he gets Cox, and gets 50mbps. What if any device can establish a connection between my house and his internet?

Is this even legal? I'm at the point of radical thinking to get internet. It's freakin ridiculous that this is all because AT&T can't run 72 feet worth of line.
 
Originally Posted By: tony1679
Is this even legal?


It would probably be against his terms of service to share his connection. I don't know about legality in terms of crime and punishment, but I imagine that you'd be making yourself (and your friend) vulnerable to some degree.
 
Is there anyone within wifi range that could get access to the AT&T line? Maybe with directional transmitter and receivers you could get quite a range?
 
dont worry about being legal but no way it would reach 5 miles
you can get hughesnet it is available everywhere
the thing about sharing with someone else is the other person never pays his half, he wants something for nothing
i tried with 3 different neighbors and never received a penny
 
at&t might not even be licensed to sell you internet. just because a fiber line runs past.. means nothing.
 
Originally Posted By: jacky
dont worry about being legal but no way it would reach 5 miles
you can get hughesnet it is available everywhere
the thing about sharing with someone else is the other person never pays his half, he wants something for nothing
i tried with 3 different neighbors and never received a penny
WiMax can reach a lot farther than 5 miles. Satellite internet along with mobile hotspots are useless to me. Between the latency and data caps, I'll continue living without internet. And I literally would be quite happy paying 100% of his internet bill. It's a lot cheaper than my only alternative. Yes, I am at THAT point.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Is there anyone within wifi range that could get access to the AT&T line? Maybe with directional transmitter and receivers you could get quite a range?
Not within a 1/4 mile. But AT&T's closest VRAD is 3/4 of a mile, and while there are houses closer with service, I don't know anyone. That's why I'm looking at the 5 mile range.
 
It would be absolutely illegal for you to broadcast/rebroadcast a signal on the frequencies and at the power levels WiMax uses...not to mention the equipment would set you back a couple hundred thousand dollars, at least. ISPs pay billions for little slices of the radio spectrum that these services lie in. It may seem silly to you, but radio interference is something the FCC takes very seriously, and considering they'll fine a CB operator ten grand for using a 25 watt Ham radio on CB channels, you can imagine what they'd do if you were pirating a WiMax signal. A conventional WiFi setup could never reach that far, the farthest ones I've seen are around ~1000 feet with any reliability. These devices are not allowed to put out more power than that for obvious reasons. When you consider that power decreases as the square of the distance, it's obvious you'd need a huge amount of power to get a reliable signal that far...a power level that is not legal for a WiFi setup.
 
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Originally Posted By: Rand
at&t might not even be licensed to sell you internet. just because a fiber line runs past.. means nothing.
While the average person should agree with you, I can disprove any reason why they can't, because all of the necessary infrastructure is in place. And they sure don't have an issue selling me POTS from that line...
 
Originally Posted By: guyonearth
It would be absolutely illegal for you to broadcast/rebroadcast a signal on the frequencies and at the power levels WiMax uses...not to mention the equipment would set you back a couple hundred thousand dollars, at least. ISPs pay billions for little slices of the radio spectrum that these services lie in. It may seem silly to you, but radio interference is something the FCC takes very seriously, and considering they'll fine a CB operator ten grand for using a 25 watt Ham radio on CB channels, you can imagine what they'd do if you were pirating a WiFi signal.
And that's why I'm evaluating my options, because I don't know much about WiMax or wi-fi for that matter. I just see a bunch of info (might as well be in French) and products on sites like Ubiquiti, and I get curious.
 
Originally Posted By: tony1679
So to somewhat branch off of my other thread, I have a problem with ISPs and their lack of service in my area. Literally my only options are two WiMax companies (which are expensive and/or slow), or to (somehow) convince AT&T to run lines to my house. I've been barking up this AT&T tree for a while now, and I'm at the point where I'm not continuing to put milk and cookies out. So thinking about my WiMax options, I thought about how they work, which led to an idea.

Is it possible to get internet service from someone "in town" who has a great ISP/service, then using a "WiMax-like" device, transmit that connection to my house? After all, that is the core of WISPs. I'm just looking to do the same thing on a personal scale.

My buddy lives about 5 miles away where he gets Cox, and gets 50mbps. What if any device can establish a connection between my house and his internet?

Is this even legal? I'm at the point of radical thinking to get internet. It's freakin ridiculous that this is all because AT&T can't run 72 feet worth of line.


Run the 72 feet of line yourself and call AT&T for service and then grease the tech with a Cnote to connect your service. Don't ask me how I know this can work....:!
 
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Originally Posted By: eljefino
There are guys who've extended wifi across valleys. They use old ku band satellite dishes, a meter in diameter, with the wifi dongle where the LNB/ feedhorn should sit.

It'd meet their TOS if you rented closet space and had your own modem/ account.

https://www.hackthissite.org/articles/read/1129
Now we're getting somewhere. But I must admit, this 5 mile gap is across a town of about 100k people, so I highly doubt I will get a clear line of sight. So that may eliminate that option.

I like your train of thought though.
 
until a few months ago i had frontier dsl and it was only 1 mbps
it did a decent job for basic internet usage
i never heard of wimax companies
i could never go without internet, im hooked on it
 
Originally Posted By: Doog
Run the 72 feet of line yourself and call AT&T for service and then grease the tech with a Cnote to connect your service.
thumbsup2.gif

While I have thought VERY seriously about doing this, I lack the skills to ACTUALLY do it. I don't have a clue what I'm doing in that department.
 
Originally Posted By: jacky
until a few months ago i had frontier dsl and it was only 1 mbps
it did a decent job for basic internet usage
i never heard of wimax companies
i could never go without internet, im hooked on it
Yes, WiMax (a.k.a. WISPs) are becoming quite popular. If only that popularity came with a reasonable price tag in my area (seems to be a lot more expensive here than other areas).
 
Originally Posted By: tony1679
Originally Posted By: Doog
Run the 72 feet of line yourself and call AT&T for service and then grease the tech with a Cnote to connect your service.
thumbsup2.gif

While I have thought VERY seriously about doing this, I lack the skills to ACTUALLY do it. I don't have a clue what I'm doing in that department.


Then do what I do at my business. Call AT&T for service and grease the tech with 2 cnotes to come on a Saturday and do the whole job.
thumbsup2.gif
Then make sure to get his cell number for "service".
 
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I have state of the art cable in my office thanks to my Saturday at&t tech. I don't know anything about that stuff either but those guys know everything and at every office I have had in 35 years they will do some extra jobs for you on the side for a few hundred bucks. Never had one say no yet. My guy wired my whole office in 4 hours then connected all the networks and had it running by 2:00pm. One Saturday...all I did was drink coffee and watch him.
 
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Originally Posted By: Doog

Then do what I do at my business. Call AT&T for service and grease the tech with 2 cnotes to come on a Saturday and do the whole job.
thumbsup2.gif
Then make sure to get his cell number for "service".
So I am following everything except for "grease the tech with cnotes." Maybe i didn't get enough sleep?
 
Originally Posted By: tony1679
Originally Posted By: Doog

Then do what I do at my business. Call AT&T for service and grease the tech with 2 cnotes to come on a Saturday and do the whole job.
thumbsup2.gif
Then make sure to get his cell number for "service".
So I am following everything except for "grease the tech with cnotes." Maybe i didn't get enough sleep?


a "c-note" is a $100 bill?
 
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