What is Fixed Wireless Internet?
Fixed wireless internet is the operation of high-speed, reliable internet service sent from the main access point to fixed locations such as homes and offices. These fixed wireless devices are supplied their electrical power from fiber optic lines, unlike mobile wireless devices, which tend to be battery-powered.
Fixed wireless is the common form of internet deployed in areas with no fiber internet infrastructure, such as rural and underserved areas. Mobile phones and other portable units are an alternative to fixed systems and serve as emergency backups in case of a power blackout or natural disaster. Users experience high efficiency and bandwidth with fixed wireless internet.
How does fixed wireless internet work?
Fixed wireless internet is supplied from towers traveled through airwaves to receivers that the service provider will have installed on the user’s property. For fixed wireless internet connections to operate, the recipient must be around 10 miles from the fixed wireless internet service provider’s tower.
High-end fixed wireless employs fixed wireless broadband modems that bypass the telephone system and offer internet access hundreds of times faster than twisted-pair hard-wired connections for telephone or cellphone connection modems.
Benefits of fixed wireless internet
- It is easier to add subscribers without incurring major changes to the network infrastructure.
- Subscribers residing in rural or remote areas such as farms can be brought into a network without deploying new cables or optical fiber across the countryside.
- Broad bandwidth is possible because there are no wires or cables to introduce reactance into the connection. Reactance limits bandwidth by preventing signals higher than a certain frequency from efficiently propagating.
- As the number of subscribers goes up, the connection cost per subscriber goes down making this a more cost-effective option.
How reliable is fixed wireless internet?
In most cases, fixed wireless internet is seen as a highly reliable option. There are two ways to gauge the reliability and performance of fixed wireless internet: the service provider’s network capacity and congestion, and installation quality control.
See also: Outdoor CPE
If a fixed wireless service provider has overloaded its network, a customer’s internet connection speed will be slow, especially during peak hours. That’s why it is urged to ask the provider about the capacity at which their network is and what measures have they taken to ensure speeds remain consistent both night and day.
In addition, customers should ensure that the internet provider puts certain installation quality control protocols in place, including a line of sight to the nearest transmitter tower if possible. The installation team should make sure there are no physical objects such as trees, buildings, power, and cable lines that could interfere with the signal’s quality and strength.
A high-quality fixed wireless installation can provide very high internet and download speeds, sometimes as high as 1 Gbps. Customers must evaluate their internet needs and select the optimal plan so that the network performs well and customers don’t have to spend extra on internet bills.
