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By J. Sharpe SmithEditor

Radio Dealers Find WirelessInternet to be a Perfect Fit

It is not hard to find pent-up demand for high-speed wireless Internet thesedays. The popularity of the Internet has led businesses and consumers to rejectthe plodding data speeds of dialup telephone lines and opt for high-speedInternet paths. But, in many instances, rural communities and industrial parks,for example, wireline technologies that provide increased data speeds, are notreadily available. Even in cases where companies have high-speed Internet accessthrough leased T1 lines, wireless Internet technology provides an economicallysound replacement

Dealers across America have added wireless Internet capabilities and arebeginning to satisfy that demand. But is the wireless Internet for you? For theradio dealer that is looking to diversify its product line, one of the first questionsis, “What is the target market?” Many users in a dealer’s current customer list area perfect fit for this low-cost, high-speed, wireless information technology. Thesecompanies, government agencies and public safety entities, which use dispatch,also need access to great amounts of information on a timely basis for a lowprice.

After the target market is established, the next question is how do youapproach these markets? There are several different methods to taking advantageof the wireless Internet market opportunities:

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• Become a Wireless Internet Service Provider(WISP) — using wireless equipment to marketand sell the service to both business and residen-tial users.

• Supply equipment, installation and technicalexpertise to an established Internet ServiceProvider or partner with the firm and remaininvolved by selling service.

• Sell wireless Internet system technology tomunicipalities or others who desire their ownsystem.

Next, find the appropriatetechnology. We spoke with anumber of dealers, most ofwhom were utilizingMotorola's Canopy system,which is based on wirelessbroadband technology. It pro-vides for high-speed Internetaccess utilizing the unlicensedUNII bands (5.25-5.35GHz or5.725-5.825GHz). The basicbuilding blocks of Canopy are:an Access Point to distributeservice to the surroundingcommunity, a Backhaul Unitthat provides the Internet"feed" from the remote loca-tion and a Subscriber Module–– Internet access receiver ––that is installed in or on thecustomer's site.

Hungry for High-speed Connectivity, Rural Areas Jump at Wireless Internet

The phone lines in West Texas have been baking inthe sun a long time. The copper wire, never designed forhigh-speed data transfer, is getting old. The small townsin this part of Texas, starved for economic development,need high-speed Internet –– partly because it is one of thekeys to attracting new businesses.

“We are focused on the small communities around usthat are underserved or not served at all by high-speedInternet service providers,” says Jay Evans, TexasCommunications, a radio dealer based in Abilene, Texas.“They don’t have DSL [digital subscriber line] capabilitiesor cable television. All that is available is dial-up service.”

Companies have shown some interest in locating inthese smaller cities to reduce their labor costs, but the lackof a telecommunications infrastructure has reportedlybeen a hindrance. In one town of 2,500 population,

Evans proposed to set up a Canopy system. After approv-ing the proposal, the industrial board for the city handedEvans a list of companies that were ready to sign up forservice.

“High-speed Internet allows a rural town to be morecompetitive with the bigger cities,” Evans says. “They arehungry for this service. We had more than 40 contractsbefore we turned the system on.”

The economic formula works, even if the companyhas access to high-speed T1 telecom lines. One of the

towns, which now has TexasCommunications’ wirelessInternet service, had twomanufacturing plants, onemaking prefabricated metalbuildings and the other pack-aging Miracle-Gro® plantfood, each paying $1,500 forT1 high-speed Internet serv-ice. Both companies realizedsignificant cost savings byrenting service on the TexasCommunications’ wirelessInternet system.

Nalcom Wireless Com-munications, Palestine, Texas,whose main business is pro-viding UHF LTR dispatchservice on over 100 channelsat 35 transmitter sites acrossEast Texas, is relatively newto wireless Internet. Whilesome wireline high-speedInternet service is currentlyavailable in Palestine, a sig-nificant portion of the

30,000 folks in the area does not have access to thatservice. They make up a target market for Nalcom. Plansare set to deploy at least four six-panel antenna sitesacross the Palestine area in order to make high-speedInternet service available to retail businesses andconsumers.

Local Governments, Industrial ParksFind Wireless Internet Economical

The economics of wireless Internet also work for gov-ernmental entities and industrial parks. Generally locatedin the fringe of America’s cities, many industrial parks arenot wired for cable service and renting T1 access is costprohibitive. Some industrial parks are administered bylocal government bodies.

TFMComm, Inc., based in Topeka, Kansas, hasfound that government projects evolve as more people

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find out about the advantages of wireless Internet service.For example, the Leavenworth Area Development (LAD)arm of the County of Leavenworth, Kansas, administerstwo industrial parks, neither of which had cable or high-speed Internet service. LAD officials had decided againstthe option of wiring the buildings and renting a T1 phoneline. As the LAD waited for funding to deploy wirelessInternet equipment, others in the County governmentbecame aware of the benefits of wireless Internet service.Now, in addition to the LAD, the ambulance service andhealth department will be added onto the system.

The County eventually made the funding availableand put the wireless Internet service up for bid, andTFMComm, recently won the right to serve as theirprovider. The dealer will deploy a Canopy wirelessInternet system and rent service to subscribers.

“The evolution of the project doesn’t stop there,” saysDoug Flair, TFMComm president. “LeavenworthCounty’s wireless Internet system will continue to grow,tying the telecommunications of multiple buildingstogether at the courthouse. These additions may also beput up for bid, as well.”

Flair already sees other WISP opportunities in thelocal government. TFMComm is currently working on asolution with a local government that is citing spotty T1service and is interested in an economical wireless solutionthat will tie together the telecom systems of the city policeand the local college campus police force.

“In selling to a local government entity, a dealer maybenefit by tapping into money already budgeted for T1

lines to pay for wireless Internet service that provides thatphone service, plus computer service and even videotransmission,” says Flair.

School Systems: A Target Market With Government Funding

TFMComm also has experience selling wirelessInternet service to schools that receive funding from theUniversal Service Fund for Schools and Libraries, or E-Rate, which provides discounted services on telecommu-nications, Internet access and internal services for all pub-lic and private schools and libraries. The Universal ServiceAdministrative Company (USAC) administers theUniversal Service Fund at the direction of the FCC.

The Access Point (center) sends information to and from the Backhaul Unit (left) and the subscriber module (right)located on the customer’s premises.

The Internet generation is now becoming wireless.

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USAC's Schools and Libraries Division administersthe E-rate, which provides schools with discounts of20 percent up to 90 percent of the cost of eligibleservices. Discounts are paid directly to the compa-nies providing the service.

Not all schools rent the equipment; some pur-chase the communications system, as well. Forexample, in one rural community, the athleticdepartment of a school, which is classified as a sep-arate, taxable entity, purchased the equipment andrented it to the school and to other businesses as away to fund its athletic programs.

The process of selling to a school system couldtake anywhere from three to six months to completefor the budget of the following school year. “It isnot a fast process, but we did have one school thatdid not want to wait for the grant so they boughtthe service immediately,” Flair says. “It goes bothways.”

In one small town, Evans says, the school sys-tem wanted the teachers to be able to grade theirstudent’s papers on their laptop computers at homeand still be able to access the school’s intranet, aswell as the Internet. Texas Communications pro-vides that service with a Canopy system.

Wireless Internet Aids inShuttle Disaster

When several federal government agencies con-verged on Texas to recover debris from the SpaceShuttle Columbia disaster, Nalcom was able toquickly assist the effort by deploying a high-speeddata access network at the incident command post.

Following this national tragedy, federal agen-cies –– including the National Aeronautics andSpace Administration, the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency (FEMA), the EnvironmentalProtection Agency and the U.S. Forestry Service —set up a command post in Palestine with more than1,000 personnel with administrative support. Thebuilding they selected, however, did not have high-speed Internet connectivity and the major telecomcarriers were not able to provide the required band-width for the operation.

Within 24 hours, Nalcom responded by settingup a Canopy wireless Internet system providingdata circuit speeds of 3.5 megabits per second(Mbps). The experience was an eye-opener forNalcom President Rick Nally. He now sees a need,working with FEMA, to create a plan for rapidlydeploying Canopy systems to aid in communica-tions for relief agencies whenever disasters strikeacross the nation.

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To be an ISP or Not? Radio DealersAnswer the Question Differently

A dealer can become a de facto “Internet ServiceProvider” by installing the wireless Internet technologyand renting access to multiple entities. Currently,TFMComm serves in that capacity, maintaining owner-ship of the equipment and charging for access to high-speed Internet service via the Canopy system. “We see thisas a community repeater for the Internet,” Flair says.TFMComm would sell the system outright, as well, if thecustomer wants.

Texas Communications had a jump on the wirelessInternet business, having spent the last five years as awireline Internet service provider. Last year whenMotorola came out with its Canopy product line, TexasCommunications dove into wireless Internet as an addi-tional service offering and has deployed it in Abilene andthe surrounding rural towns, College Station, and SanAngelo. Systems are proposed in Austin and several otherrural market areas.

Texas Communications built its Canopy system andmarkets it to subscribers. It takes advantage of its wirelineInternet investment, which includes eight T1s and a fiberswitch located in Abilene. “We were already an ISP inAbilene, so we used the Canopy backhaul unit to providethat bandwidth, for which we were already paying, toeach of the smaller towns,” Evans says. “It vastly increasesthe return on our telecommunications investment.”

If the Internet is new to the dealer, teaming with anestablished ISP can expedite the company’s entry into thewireless Internet industry. Plus, high-speed wireless con-nectivity may be a complementary service to the ISP’s cur-rent product offering.

Nalcom plans on partnering with a local InternetService Provider but will continue to be very involved inthe sales aspect. “If you have a good relationship with anestablished local Internet provider, it just makes sense notto reinvent the wheel. They already have the needed e-mail servers, the firewalls and everything worked out withthe local telco,” Nally says.

Not all radio dealers want to get involved in the salesand marketing of wireless Internet service. CattronCommunications, Inc., of Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, gotinvolved in broadband wireless equipment when an ISP,Infinity Online, Inc., of Sharon, Pennsylvania, approachedthem to provide high-speed Internet to local businesses.

Infinity had a dilemma. A local health care facilitywithin Cattron's six-county service area had requestedenough bandwidth to require a data speed of 3 Mbps orthree T1 lines. The health care facility was planning onsending medical information over the Internet to physi-cians at larger hospitals for after-hours diagnoses.

To avoid the cost-prohibitive and lengthy endeavor of

installing the T1 lines, Infinity looked to Cattron to finda wireless solution.

Cattron presented a business plan to Infinity, whichincluded the dealer’s existing towers as a basis for the sys-tem and the installation of backbone equipment. Infinitymarkets the high-speed Internet service and Cattron sellsthe equipment through Infinity and provides installationand service. Cattron uses a system by Wave WirelessNetworking, Sarasota, Florida.

“Infinity had the ISP capabilities but did not have thewireless end,” says Ramon Jones, Cattron ServiceManager. “We provide the towers and the RF knowledgeand they do the networking at the customer’s location. Itwas a nice marriage.”

The Sharpesville/Sharon area includes about 25,000to 30,000 people, and the number one reason these firms,now numbering 22, subscribed to this service was becauseno high-speed alternative was available in the mostly ruralarea. Today, the system boasts a variety of business users,including insurance, manufacturing and pharmaceuticalcompanies.

A Business Model

TFMComm’s Flair prefers to rent service on itswireless Internet equipment, as opposed to selling theequipment outright. The minimum number of usersneeded to maintain profitability for a wireless Internetservice will depend on the Internet prices the market willbear and the dealer’s costs for equipment and the rent for

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T1 telecommunications service andtower site rental costs, if applicable.“We are willing to implement a sys-tem with as few as five users and thenwe try to grow it from there, Flairsays.

As a WISP, TFMComm requiresthe user to pay a hook-up fee, a flatmonthly service fee and to sign a two-year contract for service, which mir-rors the commitment the dealer has tomake to the phone company for T1service. Eventually, when the system isloaded with users, Flair plans to limitbandwidth to maintain optimal per-formance.

Growing recurring revenue cus-tomers by adding wireless Internet isimportant to dealers, according toNally so they can “maintain theirgrowth and to survive within ourindustry.”

Serving as a WISP essentiallyallows the dealer to spread the cost ofthe T1 connection across severalusers. The more users on a system,obviously, the greater the profit mar-gin over T1 and tower rental costs.One dealer sells five tiers of band-width users based on how muchdownload speed capability theyneed: 256 kilobits per second(Kbps), 512 Kbps, 768 Kbps, 1024Kbps and 1536 Kbps.

Nally notes the tiered band-width approach is important todetermine the amount of bandwidththe user needs. “You don’t want totake a blanket approach and selleveryone 512 Kbps,” he says. “Seewhat their expectations are.”

Conclusion

The wireless Internet holdsenormous potential for the future. Ingeneral, the needs lie in businesses orresidential areas not served withhigh-speed Internet or as an eco-nomical replacement for T1 lines.Target markets for wireless Internetcan be found in each radio dealer’scustomer base.

Radio dealers are well known for

understanding their customers’ needsand providing solutions to their prob-lems. The solutions that wirelessInternet can provide are as varied as thecommunications needs of the cus-tomers.

For example, general contractorscould use high-speed Internet intheir on-site offices to receive bidsand quotes. Any company, utility oragency with security concerns canuse this technology for video surveil-lance. Colleges, such as Notre Dame,are expanding their Internet andintranet networks beyond the cam-pus to provide low-cost access to staffand students in the surroundingcommunity. Public safety agenciescan use Internet connectivity directto emergency response vehicles formobile data applications. Plus, high-speed wireless Internet equipment is

capable of doubling as intranet tech-nology, tying multiple offices togeth-er with computer, voice over IP andvideo conferencing.

Involvement with wirelessInternet technology, no matter inwhat capacity, is a natural adjunct toa dealer’s business. It simply is a per-fect fit. ■

For more information on wireless Inter-net funding for schools and libraries,visit www.sl.universalservice.org. Or forinformation on Wave Wireless Net-working, call 941.907.2300 or visitwww.wavewireless.com.

For more information on Canopy,call 888.605.2552, e-mail technical-support@canopywireless.com or visitwww.motorola.com/canopy.

Wireless Internet is inspiring some side business, as well. TFMCommmanufactures and sells this gold-anodized Canopy Cluster mount.