Local Network Cookbook:
A Recipe for Launching a Local Broadband Wireless Network
Introduction:
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes $7.2 billion in stimulus funding for broadband deployment in unserved and underserved communities. This funding will be distributed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) over the next 12 months. NTIA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce; RUS is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A summary of federal broadband stimulus funding can be found at: http://www.baller.com/pdfs/Baller_Herbst_Stimulus_2-19-09.pdf
Most of this federal broadband stimulus funding is earmarked for nonprofit organizations and government entities. Commercial providers must receive special permission from the director of NTIA. It is not yet clear whether RUS will adopt this funding approach. Grant application windows are expected in June, November, and May, 2010. These are approximate dates until an official request for proposal (RFP) is issued.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for local nonprofit organizations -- especially community media centers -- to become Internet service providers and begin developing new revenue streams. It's also an historic opportunity for advocates of Internet Freedom. The proliferation of community-based, broadband networks would be a huge step toward creating the critical "third pipe" alternative to the cable/telco duopoly, thereby generating market pressure to force the major carriers to restore “net neutrality” protections for broadband users.
The broadband stimulus opportunity opens the door to a vision for a new Jeffersonian Internet comprised of a “network-of-grassroots-networks” where civil liberties and quality journalism are valued over Wall Street business models.
"Local Network Cookbook: A Recipe for Launching a Local Broadband Wireless Network" is aimed at helping nonprofit organizations -- especially those already using digital technologies -- move quickly to plan and submit a broadband stimulus funding proposal for one of the three application windows.
Why wireless? Some advocates believe that fiber-to-the-home should be the goal of U.S. broadband policy. While commendable, this view overlooks two critical factors: First, implementing this policy would take time, especially in rural areas. Wireless, meanwhile, could deliver broadband quickly in many rural and low-income urban areas, while a long-term fiber component is being pursued. Second, broadband is going mobile, which requires a wireless solution. Given these realities, it's clear that the best solutions for community-based networks will be some combination of fiber and wireless deployment. Fiber and wireless also provide symmetrical speeds – where upload and download speeds are roughly the same. By contrast, cable and DSL technologies are asymmetrical, whereby upload is a fraction of the download speed. That's why cable and DSL technologies have a limited future.
It's imperative that community-based groups seize this historic opportunity. The broadband stimulus funding guidelines are written to favor community-based networks; however, where local networks are not forthcoming, the absentee-owned networks of the cable/telco could prevail.
Underserved communities and neighborhoods -- both rural and urban -- have suffered long enough under absentee-owned networks. Advances in digital technologies now make it possible for even the smallest community to own and operate a broadband network. Moreover, local networks can build and operate broadband networks more cost-effectively because their designs do not include additional electronics for "deep packet inspection," a controversial digital-snooping technique that allows big carriers to track how customers use the Internet.
Local networks create local jobs, instead of outsourcing jobs overseas. Local networks also bring “social capital” benefits –- a critical ingredient for innovation -- because their IT experts live and work in the communities they serve. These local experts are thereby available to share their knowledge and experience with the community's schools, youth organizations, and local businesses. The social capital impact of local networks on innovation, job-creation, and economic development deserves serious attention from broadband policy analysts.
This recipe is aimed at locally-owned "last-mile" networks to serve homes and businesses. Some communities start with a "middle-mile" fiber network to help reduce wholesale bandwidth costs for local industry, hospitals, schools and government agencies. Too often, these networks leave the "last-mile" service to commercial providers, who -- by necessity -- cherry-pick the more lucrative business subscribers, leaving low-income neighborhoods underserved. This local network recipe, therefore, is aimed at potential nonprofit ISPs whose missions embrace digital inclusion. Let's get started with the basic ingredients.
Basic Ingredients:
1. Vision
2. The Need
3. IT Team
4. Upstream Internet Link
5. Network Design
6. Network Hardware
7. Wireless Transmitter Site:
8. Customer Premise Equipment (CPE)
9. Staffing and Operating Budget
1. The Vision -- Your vision can be simple (we want our own network) or more complex (a hybrid fiber-wireless network to support community journalism, etc). The important thing is to be flexible; let your vision evolve as circumstances and opportunities change. Community-based networks can address multiple problems and opportunities simultaneously. As a general rule, however, keep it simple if you're starting from scratch.
2. The Need -- Rural and urban low-income neighborhoods have the greatest need for affordable broadband. You may want to focus on a single neighborhood or town to start. The selection of your initial service area may be driven by existing assets, such as the location of your community radio station or PEG facility, or a community-owned tower, water tank, or tall building from which to deliver broadband wireless.
3. The IT Team -- Information technology (IT) is a highly technical field which can seem arcane and daunting to many community activists. Paradoxically, this may be the easiest step in building your own network. IT professionals are everywhere: every school system, hospital, community college, and local government has an in-house IT pro. Local computer clubs often have a wealth of IT expertise. IT pros usually have a solid understanding of Internet Freedom issues (digital inclusion, privacy, civil liberties, open-source, high cost of bandwidth, absentee-owned networks, etc). A few phone calls or a public meeting to share your vision is usually all it takes to begin assembling a solid IT team. Linux user groups (LUGs) are also an excellent source for IT professionals.
4. Upstream Link -- Your local IT pros can determine the cost and availability of the "fat pipe" you need to link your local broadband network to the Internet (more details below). Typical sources of this wholesale bandwidth (sometimes called the "middle-mile" or "backhaul" link) are the local phone or cable companies, or a "competitive local exchange carrier" (CLEC, one of the few good things to come out of the 1996 Telecom Act). Of course, the high cost of this wholesale bandwidth in rural areas is one of the great challenges we face, which is why some rural communities are building "middle-mile" fiber networks before tackling "last-mile" broadband service to homes and businesses. These community-based fiber networks typically start with a coalition of institutional users, such as hospitals, schools, government agencies, and major industries. Two examples of these nonprofit fiber networks are Berkshire Connect
5. Wireless Access Point -- This is typically a telecommunications tower, forest service fire tower, water tank, or roof of a tall building -- basically, any location which gives your wireless transmitter/antenna array an optimal viewshed of the area you want to serve. Rental fees for commercial cell towers are usually cost-prohibitive, while publically-owned structures can often be leased at low cost, or no cost in a barter arrangement.
6. Network Design -- Your IT team will draft a preliminary network design based on the area you plan to serve and the availability of the upstream link. The location of existing facilities (e.g. PEG studios or radio station) may also be key in your network design. Designing a network is like connecting the dots. The constraints of your existing assets, upstream link availability, and service area may limit you to a single network design. Or, your IT team may find several possible configurations for your network.
One of the most promising new 'last-mile' technologies is "mesh" wireless. The mesh network topology consists of very low-power radios -- called nodes -- strategically placed throughout a neighborhood to create an interconnected "mesh" network capable of more efficient bandwidth-sharing. Each node creates a giant Wi-Fi hotspot -- many times larger than a coffeehouse hotspot. Anyone with a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop in a "mesh" neighborhood can connect to the Internet. Roughly one-in-four of these nodes requires a direct connection to the Internet, enabling a more cost-effective way to extend affordable broadband access to more densely-populated underserved areas.
NOTE: Technology changes fast. If you're applying for a grant to build your own network, remember that funders are open to your changing the network design if a better option is found. Also, network hardware vendors are usually willing to give a free critique of your network design; their feedback can be very valuable. Just keep in mind their inherent bias toward their specific hardware solution.
7. Network Hardware -- Once your IT team has settled on a basic network design, you're ready to begin selecting your network hardware. If you're applying for a grant, it's usually OK to specify a particular hardware manufacturer, model and pricing (Motorola transmitter, etc) in order to flesh out your budget. However, as noted above, funders are generally open to your amending the budget if you find a more cost-effective solution between the time of your application and project implementation.
8. Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) -- This is the equipment which terminates your "last-mile" network at your subscriber's home or business. For wireless broadband networks, the CPE is typically a modem which can receive your network's wireless signal. This modem-receiver has a standard cable which plugs into a desktop computer or laptop (or Wi-Fi router for subscribers with Wi-Fi-enabled laptops). In most cases, the installation of the CPE will require a site-visit by your staff. However, as noted earlier, adding mesh technology to your network reduces the number of these modems you need to deploy, thereby reducing your labor and hardware costs.
9. Staffing & Operating Costs -- Designing, budgeting, and obtaining capital to build your network is the critical first step. The next step is calculating the ongoing operating costs of your network, which will also determine what you charge for broadband access. Some small wireless networks are two-person operations serving up to 500 subscribers. Their staff handles tech-support calls via mobile phones while they're in the field installing a new subscriber. A $200-a-year online accounting package allows them to sign-up new subscribers from their laptops in the field.
A more complex model is the nonprofit Mountain Area Information Network (MAIN) in Asheville, N.C. MAIN has four full-time technical staff (network director, assistant ND, webmaster, and tech support) plus several part-time wireless installers who work as needed. This tech staff is supported by a part-time receptionist and part-time billing/bookkeeper, and full-time executive director (who is mainly focused on policy, advocacy, and fundraising). This staff supports about 500 wireless subscribers over a four-county network (three rural counties plus the city of Asheville and environs). MAIN's taff also supports 1,200 local and national dial-up subscribers, more than 400 webhosting clients, and a low-power FM radio station. The LPFM station has a full-time manager who receives IT support from network staff and financial management/fundraising support from non-technical staff.
Four Basic Steps for Network Implementation
Once you have funding or financing to build your network, there are three basic steps for implementing your network plan.
Step One: Re-visit your IT team's plan for “upstream' bandwidth, as pricing and availability do change. This is the big “fat pipe” that takes all of your subscribers' traffic – in the aggregate -- to the Internet. Upstream bandwidth is usually leased from a phone, cable, or other 'middle-mile' provider. This wholesale bandwidth comes in two forms -- or measurements -- based on speed and/or capacity:
1. The T-1 line provides 1.5 megabits-per-second (mbps) and is usually leased from the local phone company. Individual T-1 lines can be "bundled" to increase network speed and capacity. For example, to create capacity of 3 mbps, you would have the provider “bundle” two T-1 lines.
2. Upstream bandwidth from other landline providers – such as a cable or fiber network (wireless on rare occasions) -- is usually measured and priced by the megabit. For example, MAIN's Asheville POP (telecom jargon for 'point of presence') has a capacity of 6.5 mbps. Our fiber provider is a local nonprofit called ERC Broadband, which we helped conceive. Our monthly rate is $124 per megabit.
How much bandwidth is enough? The 6.5 megabits our Asheville network consumes each month serves:
* 250 wireless subscribers with speeds beginning at 1 mbps, with symmetrical upload and download. (As noted earlier, cable and DSL broadband services are asymmetrical, which means the upload is only a fraction of the download speed. The reason for this discrepancy is that telephone and cable networks had to be re-engineered for broadband; this makeshift solution assumes that uploading content is a marginal need for broadband subscribers.)
* 400-plus domains (websites which we host);
* approximately 150 people who use our free Wi-Fi service (20 minutes a day);
Because all subscribers will not be downloading 3 mbps simultaneously, a single 3 mbps upstream link can support a large number of subscribers (150-200 or more), depending on time of day and types of usage (e.g. a relatively small number of "gamers" can quickly "soak" an upstream link). The correct subscribers-to-megabit ratio is a subject of passionate debate among network staff. There is no hard and fast rule.
Therefore, "networking monitoring" is standard operating procedure so that spikes in usage can be tracked and upstream capacity increased as needed. Some upstream providers will allow your usage to "burst" above the contracted limit; you simply pay the overage, thereby ensuring consistent network performance. "Traffic-shaping" tools are also available to optimize network performance.
Step Two: Set up your network hardware, which will terminate your upstream connection and form your broadband service platform, including email, hosting, etc.
Basic network hardware components are routers and servers.
a. Router -- The T-1 or fiber/cable upstream link connects to your core router. By using the open-source Linux operating system (OS), a core router can cost less than $1,000.
b. Servers -- For less than $2,000, these high-speed, high-capacity computers provide three basic services:
1. Domain name hosting (DNS) Example: www.yourname.com
2. Email services (including listserves, aliases, forwarding, etc)
3. Website hosting (a significant revenue stream for MAIN. We do not design or build websites; instead, we give referrals to our supporters in the local business community.
Many ISPs outsource these services with their upstream provider or with a third-party provider -- for as little as $300 a month for a complete package.
At MAIN, we "feed-and-water" our own servers because we are fortunate to employ a "Uber-geek" -- our webmaster -- who performs magic on these servers and is a terrific social-capital resource for local web-designers and our hosting clients.
Step Three: Set up your "last-mile" network to deliver broadband service to the home or business -- the end user.
As we await the unlicensed "white spaces" technology, the most common wireless technologies use existing unlicensed frequencies -- 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and 900 MHz. A new "lite-licensed" frequency -- 3.65 GHz -- promises far greater speeds and range (20 mbps with 25-30 mile range). Lite-licensing simply means that the geo-location of the transmitter must be registered with the FCC – via a simple online form – before deployment.
When MAIN launched its wireless broadband service in 2003, 900 MHz was the best "last mile" option, as this lower-frequency signal can "bend" to a small degree around buildings and ridges and penetrate foliage at close range (under two miles). Wireless broadband at 900 MHz can produce “non-line-of-sight” (NLOS) coverage at close range (1-2 miles). The two higher frequencies -- 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz – are strict "line of sight" (LOS) but can deliver a viable signal up to 20 miles or more, depending on power levels and signal concentration. The latest versions of these unlicensed technologies accommodate speeds of 4-8 mbps.
These wireless technologies are usually employed in three ways:
1. Last-mile to the home or business via a modem/receiver, which picks up the signal from the transmitter/attenna array;
2. Tower-to-tower (or roof-top to roof-top) to extend the reach of the network by connecting two or more transmitters to upstream bandwidth. These are known as “backhaul” links and can range up to 30 miles or more (LOS). They are critical in reaching underserved areas which do not have direct access to a fiber-based upstream provider.
3. "Mesh" wireless is a complementary "last-mile" application that can expand the network's reach and efficiency at lower cost. (Described above under "Network Design").
We are currently testing the 3.65 GHz "lite-licensed" technology, whose stronger signal and superior capacity supports higher speeds (up to 20 mbps) over greater distances (25-30 mile LOS) – and more subscribers. The 3.65 GHz technology is ideal for long backhaul links in rural areas. We are also hopeful that it can be used strategically in some of Asheville's densely-populated neighborhoods to provide greater speed and capcity for our Wi-Fi City mesh service.
Basic Wireless Access Point (WAP) (via a tower, water tank or roof of a tall building):
Transmitter: Generates the "juice" or electrical signal for broadband access. Cost range: $1,800 (up to 75 subscribers) to $3,800 (up to 300 subs). Multiple transmitters (technically a “transceiver” because they transmit and receive) are deployed to accommodate more subscribers.
Antenna: Omni-directional or sector. Omni antennas are ideal for small towns when mounted at a central location (courthouse roof or water tank). Their 360 degree coverage with effective ranges of 2-3 miles (NLOS) and 6 miles (LOS) works well in compact communities and neighborhoods.
Cost: Under $1,000
Sector antennas concentrate a signal over a 60, 90 or 120 degree area. A more concentrated sector (e.g. 60 degrees) yields a stronger signal and thus a greater range. Cost: Under $1,000
WAP Router: Routers for wireless access points range from $300 to $1,000.
Step Four: Hooking up the subscriber to your network. Strength-of-signal is the determining factor here. Avoid hooking-up subs with marginal signals, no matter how bad they want the service. They are at risk for disappointment – and can make life miserable for you and your staff.
As noted in item #8 above (“Customer Premise Equipment”), your subscriber will need either a modem to receive your wireless signal, or a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop if the sub is in range of one of your “mesh” nodes.
Modems are installed by hand and can sometimes require an additional outdoor antenna to get a sufficient signal. This type of installation can run $800 ($400 for the modem plus $400 for antenna, cabling, and labor).
Where the signal is stronger, an indoor modem can be placed near a window aimed toward the wireless access point (WAP). A cable is then run to plug into a desktop computer. Total cost: $500 (modem, cabling, and labor).
With mesh networking, a low-power node is added to either of the two installations described above. The node then broadcasts a Wi-Fi signal up to several thousand feet. That signal can then be picked up by anyone in the neighborhood with a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop.
Finding the optimum mix of modem and mesh subscribers is the goal of an efficient and high-performance wireless broadband network using current unlicensed frequenicies.
The field of wireless broadband technology for use in unlicensed frequencies is evolving fast. This summary is intended to provide a general and current snapshot of wireless broadband's costs, performance, and potential.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: “Local Network Cookbook” is a work-in-progress. Your feedback will help guide and refine it. Send comments and questions to: localnetworks@main.nc.us
Copyright 2009 Wally Bowen
Bridging the Rural Digital Divide: FCC Starts Work on National Broadband Strategy
The Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC, begins work today on a yearlong national broadband strategy to bring high-speed broadband internet into every American home. Under the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus plan, the FCC is responsible for developing a strategy to improve broadband coverage and present it to Congress in February of 2010. We speak with Wally Bowen, executive director of the Mountain Area Information Network in Asheville. [includes rush transcript]
Guest:
Wally Bowen, Executive director of Mountain Area Information Network, a nonprofit internet service provider that offers internet service in western North Carolina. It is based in Asheville, North Carolina. He is also the founder of the low-power FM station WPVM.
AMY GOODMAN: The Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC, began work yesterday on a yearlong national broadband strategy to bring high-speed broadband internet into every American home. Under the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus plan, the FCC is responsible for developing a strategy to improve broadband coverage and present it to Congress in February of 2010.
Acting FCC Chair Michael Copps has described the plan as, quote, “the biggest responsibility given to the FCC since the Telecom Act of 1996.” Improving and expanding internet service is expected to be a central part of the plan.
My next guest is Wally Bowen, longtime activist on bridging the rural digital divide. He is the executive director of the Mountain Area Information Network in Asheville, North Carolina, a nonprofit internet service provider that offers internet service in western North Carolina. He is also the founder of the low power FM station WPVM and a former member of the North Carolina Rural Internet Access Authority.
Wally Bowen, it’s nice to have you with us.
WALLY BOWEN: Great to be here, Amy.
AMY GOODMAN: It was great to be on PVM when I was in Asheville last time around.
WALLY BOWEN: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: But talk about what you think is most critical right now around the issue of rural broadband.
WALLY BOWEN: Well, it’s rural broadband and broadband in low-income urban neighborhoods. Well, it’s the stimulus package, it’s the $7.2 billion that you referenced, and it’s just an historic opportunity for the creation of local networks and moving away from the kind of absentee-owned networks that we’ve suffered under all these decades that are beholden to Wall Street and not beholden to our communities.
And what’s interesting about the $7.2 billion that has been allocated in the stimulus bill for broadband build-out is that the regulation is written specifically for community-based groups. It’s nonprofits, local and state governments are given priority for this funding. For-profit carriers, the Verizons and AT&Ts and the cable companies, have to show that they are working in the public interest before they’re eligible for any of this funding for a particular project. So the door is wide open for the creation of community-based internet service providers, like what we’ve been doing in western North Carolina.
AMY GOODMAN: Explain what MAIN is.
WALLY BOWEN: Mountain Area Information Network, it’s a nonprofit internet service provider, and what—we got started in around 1994, ’95, when we discovered that many of the rural counties here in the mountains had to call long distance to get on the internet. There was no public access at the public libraries for internet access. And so, we were fortunate enough to get a grant, a federal grant, to bridge the digital divide and put servers in each of these counties, and so people could get dial-up, get to the internet with a local phone call, and so there would also be public access at our public libraries.
And we woke up one day, and we were an ISP. And we had a business model. We had sustainable revenue. My background is journalism, so I always—you know, I was wanting to bridge the digital divide but also create sustaining revenue for journalism. And so, that’s what we’ve been moving toward all these years. And five years ago, we launched WPVM, a low power FM radio station, and brought Democracy Now! for the first time to Asheville public access TV. So we’ve been concentrating our efforts on creating media infrastructure that is grounded in our community and beholden to our community and not beholden to Wall Street.
AMY GOODMAN: As newspapers fold, what is this nonprofit model you see?
WALLY BOWEN: Well, you know, at the media reform conferences, when I present our work, it’s always this paradox, because all of us are trying to find a new way to do journalism and alternative media, and yet every month people are writing a check to Verizon, AT&T, Charter. And so, all those digital dollars are flowing out of our communities and going to these big companies that are working in the interests of Wall Street and not in the interests of democracy.
And so, what the community-based nonprofit ISP, internet service provider, does is capture some of those digital dollars, keeps them in the community to support things like low power FM radio, public access TV. Eventually we hope to be paying journalists to do stories in our community using this revenue from our ISP.
AMY GOODMAN: Explain how the stimulus package affects you.
WALLY BOWEN: Well, again, it’s just a historic opportunity, because we need to build our network out further to reach more people. We’re also using—most of the stimulus money we’re going to be going after will be used for fiber, to lay the groundwork, to extend our last-mile wireless network out further and reach more people.
One of the interesting things about western North Carolina is that we’re probably one of the only regions of the country that has both a last-mile wireless provider, which is Mountain Area Information Network, but a middle-mile, nonprofit fiber provider, which we have several of. One is a rural electric co-op, nonprofit, local. Another is called ERC Broadband; it’s a nonprofit we helped create through other allies in the community to own our own fiber. It’s reduced our bandwidth costs. We were paying $2,500 a month for a T1 line in 1996; we’re now paying about $200 for an equivalent amount of bandwidth. And so, we’ve been able to bring our bandwidth costs down, expand our capacity, because we have a locally owned fiber network and a locally owned last-mile network to reach homes and businesses.
This is a model that could be done anywhere in the country. And I’m particularly excited to be on your program, because you reach the 750 community-based media centers, community radio, public access operations that could also implement this model and thereby support their efforts by also helping bridge the digital divide.
AMY GOODMAN: And yet, public access is under attack right now.
WALLY BOWEN: Exactly, exactly. And so, you know, it’s just critical that we find alternative revenue streams, and here comes along the stimulus package, which is presenting that opportunity. One thing I’m concerned about is that—
AMY GOODMAN: And we just have thirty seconds.
WALLY BOWEN: —a lot of our colleagues in the media reform movement think that becoming an ISP is like rocket science. It’s not. And so, it’s just a terrific opportunity. I’ve drafted about a 5,000-word cookbook for local broadband networks, which is going up on our website today, Mountain Area Information Network, MAIN, main.nc.us, and maybe you could put it on the Democracy Now! website, as well .
AMY GOODMAN: We will link to it at democracynow.org.
WALLY BOWEN: But it’s a step-by-step process to show community radio, public access TV, community media centers around the country just how they can begin planning. The interesting thing about broadband stimulus is that the three windows for applications are June, November and May of next year, so there’s is still time to plan for broadband stimulus.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you for being with us. We will certainly link to your cookbook. What is it? A recipe book.
WALLY BOWEN: It’s a local broadband network cookbook, how to do it yourself.
AMY GOODMAN: And we’ll link to it at democracynow.org.
