NISP Definitions:

Antennas - The access point will broadcast the signal to customers via an omni directional antenna or one or more sector antennas. In most cases NISPs will use antennas designed to send a wireless signal 1 mile.  However, it is possibly to use high-gain antennas to reach customers that are 4-5 miles away with the right line-of-sight and topographical conditions.

Billing Solution - The billing solution doesn't need to be very sophisticated, but does need to include a gateway that offers the ability to charge different amounts for incremental monthly bandwidth subscription plans.  Customer should be able to logon to the system at any time and upgrade their account for faster service.  Systems that we have recommended in the past include, Airpath and PowerNOC.

If a customer doesn't pay their bill or their credit card expires, the billing system needs to turn off the customer immediately.

Category 5 Ethernet Cable - Many WISPs will use coaxial cable to carry a signal from the antenna to the radio and then from the radio to the computer. Many WISPs are moving to Power over Ethernet solutions, which allow them to use outdoor-rated category 5 cabling. Category 5 wiring is much cheaper than coaxial cable and it doesnt experience near as much attenuation as coaxial cable. Category 5 cabling can also carry power to the antenna, which means it won't need its own power supply. A typical category 5 cable can carry signal and power over spans of up to 300 feet. 

Cell Site - A cell site is usually drawn as a cirlce, where the equipment is located in the center of the circle. A doughnut of coverage is usally associated with a omni directional antenna. However, many cells are built in sectors, which means the circle looks like a pie that is cut into 2, 4 or 6 pieces of pie.

Cell sites are also called access points or base stations. Other people might call them a headend. Cell sites are where the equipment is located that broadcasts and receives the wireless data signal to customers.

Competition - Most cells will be deployed in neighborhoods with no other forms of broadband such as DSL or cable modems. 

Coverage Ring Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) – For a NISP, we divide the circle up into three coverage zones:

    Ring A - Customers located within the Ring A range will be very close to the access point, no more than 500 ft. from the access point.  Customers will need a 50-200 milliWatt (mW) wireless PCMCIA network interface card (NIC) that can plug into any network adapter slot for laptops. We highly recommend using a 200 mW card, because in an outdoor environment, you can get a signal half a mile away. Users can also install a PCI NIC into a slot on the motherboard of a personal computer. 

    Ring B - Customers located in Ring B range will be close, but may be dealing with line-of-sight issues.  The customer will needs a minimum 200 mW USB antenna.  A USB antenna usually has a cord about 4 feet long, which attaches to a small direction antenna.  The antenna can be placed on the window seal of a window facing the access point. Selecting a radio with 200 mW of power will give it enough strength to reach an access point even if one or two homes is in the way.

Another option for Ring B customers is a Power over Ethernet (PoE) solution, which will allow customers to move the antenna up to 300 ft. from the PoE injector and will allow the customer to put the antenna in a part of the home that gets the best reception from the access point.  Some people might find the best reception by mounting the antenna inside the home’s attic, which might have better line of site to the access point antenna.

    Ring C - Customers located more than a tenth of a mile away will need some type of small directional antenna.  The antenna should be powered by a PoE solution and mounted outside the home.  All outdoor equipment must be grounded properly.  Customers may need to utilize a link calculator to determine how many dBi an antenna will need to reach the access point.

Internet Backbone Connection - Most access points will be connected to the Internet via a T1 (1.5 Mbps) connection.  However, the solution could be set up to work with any type of broadband including cable modems, DSL and even satellite broadband backbone connections in very remote areas. Click here to get a quote on a T1 circuit.

Landing Page - Like most hotspots, the system needs to come complete with a customizable landing that will allow the neighborhood to establish its own landing page.

The landing page will allow existing customers to login with a username and password.  All new customers should be able to provision themselves into the billing solution with a credit card and choose from daily, weekly, monthly or yearly billing plans.

The landing page should allow advertising from local companies. It should be able to display the various pieces of CPE that can be bought and used to access the neighborhood's network.

Outdoor Hotspot Cell - The average cell size of a NISP system will need to cover a circle with a  diamater of  1-3 miles.  Most people won’t need a system larger than 1 mile.  In a suburban area, there are usually about 750 homes in a circle of coverage with a 1-mile diameter. A good goal to plan for in an area with no broadband is a  25% penetration level. This would give the average operator around 200 customers.

Outdoor Coverage Map - Example Coverage Map

Network Management Platform - Many neighborhoods will want a third party to manage the network for them via remote Network Operations Center. So Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) with dialup telnet support maybe necessary.

Tower – Most systems won’t need a tower because equipment will be located on the top of the highest rooftop in the neighborhood or a small pole mounted to the side of a house. Common height will be about 50 ft.  Other options might include mounting the equipment on utility poles.

   More definitions are available from BWE's Broadband Wireless Glossary.