Andy Asberry wrote in
:

I'm out in the country. Only internet hookup is dialup or DirectWay
(been there, done that; not recommended). Connection speed is 26.4. T1
is available for $600 month.

Does anyone have experience with wireless ISP, either as a customer,
provider, technician or designer? I'm interested in the 2 to 5 mile
variety; not hot spot. I'm on the prairie. A 100 foot tower would
cover a 10 mile radius.

Groups to query? Links? Equipment suppliers?

I had the same problem with lack of broadband options. The WISP provider
usually will come out for free and do a check to see if you have a direct
line of sight. Unfortunately in my case there was something between my
house and the tower. There is a tower I can see from my backyard, but
they only accept commercial accounts, and they were expensive. I did a
bit of research into WISP's and most everyone I talked to about theirs
was happy with it. That being said, the three that are available in my
area are small companies so If you're expecting 24 hour support, ain't
happening. Recently I noticed that Comcast was doing a lot of work around
where I live. So I called them again to see if broadband cable was now
available in my area. It is! So if all goes well on Monday I'll be able
to remove the virus er ISP "software" from my computers once and for all.
AOl used to be a secondary account for me. My then young son wanted to
get online and it's really a pretty good deal for that. Plus I travel a
lot, and I can get online anywhere with the virus. Little did I know that
when I moved here, AOL would end up being my only ISP, it just sort of
worked out that way. Well my kid is old enough now that he really doesn't
need a net nanny anymore, and we're getting bradband in Podunk. Anyway
back to your questions. I couldn't find any groups for WISPS. I did a
Google search on the newsgroups and most folks inquiries were met with
confusion.

Equipment - All of the WISPS in my area are using Motorola equipment, so
if you're thinking of putting up a tower and hitchin' into the T1, I
would start with them. http://motorola.canopywireless.com/

Links - http://www.datamoco.com/ (they have a pretty good explanation on
their site)

http://www.mc.net/

The big downside is the need to have direct line of sight. This is not at
all like a wireless network. A tree can block the signal.
Good luck.

Dan