How does the system work?

The Subscriber Module (SM) is the subscriber termination unit (like a modem is with dialup). It consists of a single transceiver that operates with a 60-degree antenna. SM synchronization and control is accomplished via the received Access Point (AP) signal transmitted from the base station. SM's may be located either in- or outdoors as long as they can see the base station. The Subscriber Module is connected to your machine via a single Category 5 cable powered via an AC power adaptor.!Surge Protection!

Isn't this just like Satellite?

Not very much at all (both involve radio signals, but that's where the similiarity ends). Our wireless internet is bi-directional unlike satellite, where you download via the dish antenna and may be connected to a phone line (good, 'ol dial-up) to upload information. Wireless Internet eliminates the need for any dedicated phone lines, reducing costs and vastly increasing speeds. All satellite internet services are comparatively slow, especially when uploading. Take for example Star Band satellite internet where the maximum upload speed is only 40Kbps - this is slower than dialup!
Also there is a latency problem with satellite (the delay caused while your computer talks to the internet). With satellite internet service, the signal has to travel more than 46,000 miles resulting in long delays, which can result in speeds which are worse than dial-up! With our wireless internet system the signal only travels a few miles which means that websites load, most of the time, instantly

What is the difference between this and DSL?

Like satellite, DSL upload speeds are much slower than the download speeds and you'll need local telephone service to be able to receive the DSL service (DSL does not fully 'tie-up' a phone line, but DSL comes to you via a phone line.)  With our service download and upload speeds are the same and our service does not require a phone line. For example, if you subscribe to our 512Kbps service you get a symmetrical, 512Kbps sustained service - download and upload, with downloads bursting to between 1Mbps and 3Mbps and uploads to 1Mbps. The amount of data which you are allowed to burst varies with each service plan.

What is the difference between this and 802.11 technology?

A whole bunch! Wireless Etc is built using the new Motorola® Canopy wireless equipment.  802.11 technology vastly under utilizes the available bandwidth (the RF spectrum allocated by the FCC) and has trouble coping under load. That and it has many security weaknesses of which we simply avoid by not employing any 802.11 equipment anywhere on our network. 802.11 is good for what it was designed for, but not much else. The Wireless Etc Motorola Canopy system delivers the same consistent, burstable bandwidth in a reliable, secure manner.

To us 802.11 based systems are sorely abused and somewhat obsolete.  802.11 based systems also have decidedly poorer performance as the distance between the access point and the subscriber module grows - the further you live away from the base station, the slower your access will be. Wireless Etc delivers the same full bandwidth over our entire service area - distance from our transmitter site/base station/tower is not a factor.

Where are the base stations?

We have five base stations in Garland County. One is located on Mount Riante.   If you can see this light from your location, you can get our service. Another is located on West Mountain. At night you can see a red light on the top of the West mt. tower.These two cover most of Hot Springs and surrounding areas. We have two towers in DiamondHead which cover that area and surrounding locations. And we have a new site located in Royal on Oakgrove Road on a water tank. Riante, Diamondhead and Royal have both radio technologies (both being 'clear line of site only' and 'other'). West Mntn has only the 'clear line of site' technology.

What will interfere with the signal?

'Interference' comes in many forms, but to keep things simple, here is a list: trees, buildings, wireless/radio devices which are close enough and powerful enough, hills, power stations -- anything with a strong (enough) radio or electromagnetic energy radiation. Some examples are: cordless phones, stereo headsets, wireless speakers, wireless thermometers/barometers, wireless clocks, wireless security systems, wireless utility company devices, paging systems/towers, dense trees (worse, trees with leaves), buildings, sometimes extreme excessive moisture in the air, lots of ice on the equipment (on the tower or your house)... we try to find all this at the Site Survey of your location before we permanently mount any equipment to your house/fence/deck, etc. Oh, I said trees twice....
This all sounds terrible, right? Well, it's not really, but this does require knowledge and experience to set up and maintain successfully. Just do what we say, and it will work reliably. If you want/need more details, take us to lunch and we'll fill your ears. :-)

What is needed at the computer?

Your computer must have an Ethernet port (sometimes called a NIC card). Many computers come with this connection built into the system. If you want to connect more than one computer to the service at the same time, you'll need a router. If you want to be wireless in/throughout your location, you'll need a wireless router. Again, our wireless technology is not 802.11 and is not compatible with the wireless technology built into laptops/PCs.

We also recommend that you have a personal firewall installed on your machine. Several are available online and some are free for personal use. We do not recommend a specific one but we strongly advise you have one. The same goes for anti-virus software. We also strongly recommend that all Windows updates are installed on a regular basis.

Wireless Etc does not provide a formal firewall solution, so protecting your own personal computers is your responsibility.

An optional router of some kind will help deter some 'junk' on the internet highway.

See our checklist for other requirements.

Will this work with game boxes, Linux PC's, or Macintoshes, as well as Windows PCs?

Yes, the system is simply a wireless Ethernet system. You do not need any special software to interface with the subscriber module. If your computer can work with a LAN it will work with our system.

Can multiple computers use a single connection?

Only via some kind of internet sharing systems (such as a router as talked about earlier). If you install a WiFi system (which operates at 2.4GHz), this will not interfere with our equipment as we do not use any 2.4GHz equipment. We do not allow internet sharing, per the Customer Agreement, and if we discover that internet sharing is occuring to allow other homes or businesses to have our service, your service will be discontinued without notice.

Can I install this system myself?

You can do the internal cable run yourself, since we will charge extra to run cable a significant distance. The external cabling we will do. A simple CAT 5 Ethernet cable needs to be run between the wall-grounding junction box and the computer (or router). Our techs generally install and align subscriber modules, reflectors/antennas, and any other required mounting hardware to ensure an accurate and stable connection.

How can I use my current (or old) E-mail account?

The answer varies with the type of account. If you are using web based e-mail like Hotmail or Yahoo, then there is no change. You simply use your web browser and access your account as you have been. If you have an e-mail account with a dial-up or other type of ISP, it is not as simple.
First, be assured that you can always receive e-mail from another e-mail provider through Wireless Etc. Sending e-mail might be a problem (but it's usually a small problem). Usually all that's necessary is to enable (actually, you are 'requiring') authentication in your e-mail client. Sometimes it's more troublesome than that. Whatever the case, you must maintain your account with the other e-mail provider until you are ready to go without it at which time you'll need to contact them and cancel your account with them..

How can I use my e-mail account when away from home?

Go to http://mail.wletc.com/webmail

This is a webmail application that will allow you to send and receive e-mail from your account. You will need your username and password, so make sure to take those with you when traveling. You will log in as 'yourname@wletc.com' and then your password.

What don't you offer?

Check out this page for details of what we do not offer and what your obligation is. Also read our !!aggreement link goes here!!

How long will it take to get service?

As you might guess, we are quite busy and frankly, you'll just have to get in line. Usually, that line isn't but a few days long. Once we determine you are in our coverage area, a technician will contact you to make an appointment. Installs performed during the week are usually done within 2 to 4 hours. Weekend installs may be done in two phases: cable-run and reflector installation (if necessary) are done on the first day, with radio and computer configuration done later.

Why don't you offer a Service Level Agreement or other assurance of service?

We offer live 8-5 M-F technical support.   Few of our employees are on this system at home and we monitor it.  If the system is down, we are down too.  So, we have a vested interest in keeping things ticking smoothly.  System wide troubles are detected and resolved in what we believe to be a timely manner.  However, some things are out of our control. If a backhoe digs up one of our fiber cables, the system will be down.  And it will not be up until the fiber cable is spliced. We cannot control those types of failures.  We do have automatic rerouting of traffic throughout our system, but we cannot guarantee 100% uptime.  We only guarantee that we will give you the best service possible.

Do you have a newsgroup server?

No we do not, nor are news (NNTP) servers allowed on the network. There are plenty of free news services available, including Google's Newsgroups

What download speed will I get?

First, you must understand the difference in ways of showing speed.  Big B vs. little b; Big K vs. little k:
Big B = bytes
Little b  = bits
There are 8 bits per byte.

Big K = 1024 bytes
Little k = 1000 bytes
Not too much difference but it is there.

Our basic plan speed is 256Kbps.  This is the same as downloading at 32 KBps (8 x 32KBps = 256 Kbps).

So, $50.00/month gives you a 32KBps (256Kbps) connection with a burst speed up to 1 to 3Mbps.

If you begin to download a file, it will initially download up to the 3 Mbps burst speed.  After about 5 MB of downloading, you download speed will be shifted down for the speed which you pay for.

For example, if you are subscribed to our 512Kbps service, you could start to download at about 128KBps to 384KBps.  After downloading 5 MB of a file you will see the download speed shift down to about 64KBps, or 512Kbps - the speed to which you are subscribed.

After you stop the download, the system will reset and you will be allowed the higher burst speed again after a few minutes.  However, if you continue to download or stream large quantities of data, the system will continue to shift you down to the speed you pay for.

If you subscribe to a higher price plan (e.g. 768Kbps), not only will the download progress at a much higher speed, it will not shift down to the speed to which you are subscribed until you download 8MB.  So, really you get much more performance for only $50 more per month.

Check out this demo from motorola on how canopy works. click here

Reliability is undeniable!

We can provide a list of customers to contact if you are still undecided.