tech support for community group who wants to set up broadband

damolee

Hi, I recently had a meeting with a group of people in my village/local community and we decided we wanted to investigate the possibility of setting up our own community broadband scheme. We live in a very rural area and dont ever see Eircom or anyone else rolling out broadband to us....

I have done a fair deal of looking on the web today and came across various commercial organisations that run wireless broadband services. None cover our area as yet in South Limerick. Ice Broadband are getting closer but from the threads on here, they seem to be terrible!

We think we have enough interest to do it ourselves and set it up as a kind of local 'club' where everyone pays a certain amount each month but where do we start???

How do we buy broadband space if thats the correct terminology?? Do we have to approach Eircom to do this? Where do we buy the aerials and wireless routers that everyone will need? Do we need a license?

Many thanks

Damien.

Sponge Bob

Roscahill in county Galway recently did this , ask them how maybe ??

http://www.porridgetown.com/drupal/

Do not approach eircom until its nearly live and you have backhaul. PM me if you want suggestions on backhaul.

eircom will immediately prioritise upgrading your exchange once they realise that you can bypass them. Thats why Roscahill suddenly got DSL in October 2007 They will still need the local WISP as many rural lines are crap anyway but they have gone from NOTHING to having a CHOICE and all in the space of a few months.

damolee

Hi SpongeBob

Many thanks for the link to this other community site, I've quickly checked them out and they seem to be running something exactly along the lines of what we had in mind....

Can you explain backhaul as its not a term I am familiar with?

Many thanks

Damien.

Sponge Bob

Roscahill can tell ye how to install and buiild radios and antennae, the local network.

Ye still need a fat pipe pointing towards the big internet, assume thats in Limerick and thereafter the world.

Thats backhaul for ya . I would look into WTS Broadband and www.fwi.ie and www.permanet.ie and http://www.premierbroadband.net/ all of whom have backhaul in or near south Limerick and are arranged in a ring around Limerick ...or within it ...once you note their coverage maps.

If one of them can bang a signal across to your high point then maybe roscahill and yeerselves can chinwag on the local network.

IF ye have a GOOD highpoint then one of those carriers may be interested in providing a service altogether to save you doing what Roscahill did.

Maints

Damolee,

PM sent.

Paul.

bushy...

damolee wrote: »

We think we have enough interest to do it ourselves and set it up as a kind of local 'club' where everyone pays a certain amount each month but where do we start??? Where do we buy the aerials and wireless routers that everyone will need?

There isn't that much to it at all , don't get bogged down in details or go off buying gear so early ( Important since there is any amount of crap equipment out there and lads willing to happily sell it to you.)
As Spongebob said, get together and try and suss a good highpoint , that is the hardest bit. The rest is just installing gear and a bit of config.