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Definition of a Wisp and a Wide Area Network
We are a
WISP.
WISP
is an acronym, which stands for Wireless Internet Service Provider. These can be
Wi-Fi hotspots
or an operator with a Wi-Fi based network infrastructure. Often they offer
additional services, like location-based content, Virtual Private Networking and Voice
over IP.
WISP's are predominantly in
rural environments where cable and digital subscriber lines are not
available.
Typically, the way that a
WISP operates is to pull a large and usually expensive point to point
connection to the center of the area they wish to service. From here, they
will need to find some sort of elevated point in the region, such as a radio
or water tower, on which to mount their equipment. On the consumers side,
they will mount a small dish to the roof of their home and point it back to
the Wisp’s High Site or tower.
Since it is difficult for a
single service provider to build an infrastructure that offers global access
to its subscribers, roaming between service providers is encouraged by the Wi-Fi
Alliance with the WISPr protocol. WISPr is a set of recommendations
approved by the alliance, which facilitate inter-network and inter-operator
roaming of Wi-Fi users.
Typically, wireless
technology has comparable latency to a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL).
Problems
with WISP services
- Most technologies
require line of sight (LOS).
- The range of Non Line of Sight
(NLOS) equipment is greatly limited when LOS is not available.
- Government-mandated
limits on broadcast power often limited the range of unlicensed
equipment severely.
- Everything from sunspots
to other Wisp’s can cause interference.
- Wisps mount their
antennae and some other equipment outdoors, prone to damage from
lightning and extreme winds.
Neighbourhood
Internet Service Provider
From
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The term Neighbourhood
Internet Service Providers (NISP) is a small-scale broadband internet service provider targeted at a
single subdivision or neighbourhood. They are built in an underserved neighborhood
to provide internet to everyone in the community, often using wireless
technologies including those based on the IEEE
802.11 protocols.
With the right amount of subscribers,
a NISP can easily cost less the traditional DSL and cable
lines. The drawback of a NISP is that someone must maintain the integrity of
this neighbourhood network. Without a traditional company maintaining the network
a NISP, the quality of service may suffer.
There are firms that will
install and maintain such a network, but there are also other options. A
loosely knit community might use WiFi
mesh to connect collectively owned access points, for instance.
Wireless
community network
Wireless
community networks or wireless
community projects are the largely hobbyist-led
development of interlinked computer
networks using wireless LAN technologies, taking advantage of the
recent development of cheap, standardised 802.11b (Wi-Fi) devices to
build growing clusters (group of the same or similar elements
gathered) of linked, citywide networks, or in rural areas where conventional
DSL services are unavailable. Some link to the wider Internet,
particularly where individuals can obtain unmetered internet connections such
as ADSL and/or cable
modem at fixed costs and share them with friends. Where such access is
unavailable or expensive, they can act as a low-cost partial alternative, as
the only cost is the fixed cost of the equipment.
History
Such projects started to evolve
in 1998 with the
availability of 802.11 equipment, and are gradually spreading to cities and
towns around the world. In mid-2002, most such networks have been still
embryonic, with small groups of people experimenting and gradually
interconnecting with each other and thus expanding the domain and utility of
the networks. As of mid-2005, wireless community networks have become
increasingly popular and exist throughout many cities. Such networks have a
distributed rather than a tree-like topology and have the potential to
replace the congested and vulnerable backbones of the wired internet in most places.
These projects are in many
senses an evolution of amateur radio, and more specifically packet
radio, as well as an outgrowth of the free
software community (which in itself substantially overlaps with amateur
radio), and share their freewheeling, experimental, adaptable culture. The key
to using standard wireless networking devices designed for short-range use
for multi-kilometer linkups is the use of high-gain antennas. Commercially available examples
are relatively expensive and not that readily available, so much
experimentation has gone into homebuilt antenna construction. Examples
include the cantenna,
which performs better than many commercial antenna designs and is typically
constructed from a Pringles potato chip can, and RONJA, an optical link
that can be made from a smoke flue and LEDs,
with circuitry
and instructions released under the GFDL.
CompuMission
CompuMission is unique and
differs from other WISPS because CompuMission main goal is not to supply
internet access. The goal CompuMission set is to provide a wireless
infrastructure country wide to make it possible for companies with offices in
different places to interlink their different offices in one network.
Internet access is only provided for Virtual Private Networking links to other
networks and for the purpose of email services, internet access, mainly for
the upgrade of different software, eg: Anti-virus programs and
Microsoft Updates. Single offices may also make use of this service.
Special services for video
editors and web developers, etcetera are also catered for. Costs may
therefore differ from client to client according to their needs. We
support also the idea of a cost effective wireless community network with
services like Voice over IP.
A Wireless Wide Area
Network as backbone to different corporate and government networks is
probably the best description for the services rendered by CompuMission.
Wide
area network
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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search
Wide Area
Network (WAN) is a computer
network that covers a broad area (i.e., any network whose communications
links cross metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries [1]). Or, less formally, a network that uses routers and
public communications links [1]. Contrast with personal area networks (PANs), local area networks (LANs), campus area networks (CANs), or metropolitan area networks (MANs) which
are usually limited to a room, building, campus or specific metropolitan area
(e.g., a city) respectively. The largest and most well-known example of a WAN
is the Internet.
WANs are used to connect
LANs and other types of networks together, so that users and computers in one
location can communicate with users and computers in other locations. Many
WANs are built for one particular organization and are private. Others, built
by Internet service providers, provide
connections from an organization's LAN to the Internet. WANs are often built
using leased
lines. At each end of the leased line, a router connects
to the LAN on one side and a hub within the WAN on the other. Leased lines
can be very expensive. Instead of using leased lines, WANs can also be built
using less costly circuit switching or packet
switching methods. Network protocols including TCP/IP deliver
transport and addressing functions. Protocols including Packet over SONET/SDH, MPLS, ATM and Frame
relay are often used by service providers to deliver the links that are
used in WANs. X.25
was an important early WAN protocol, and is often considered to be the
"grandfather" of Frame Relay as many of the underlying protocols
and functions of X.25
are still in use today (with upgrades) by Frame Relay.
Academic research into wide
area networks can be broken down into three areas: Mathematical models, network emulation and network simulation.
CompuMission delivers
these services over their wireless infrastructure. This is the ideal
backbone for IT managers to link different client offices
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