Canberra wireless ISP

The Canberra ISP NetSpeed is offering a fixed wireless Internet service at up to 14Mbps called "Longreach". The cheapest plan is comparable with the iBurst service, with without its portability. However, the aim of the new service is for higher speed than iBurst can provide and is intended to compete with ADSL2 fixed line services.

According to Brian Morris at NetSpeed, Motorola Canopy equipment is being used at 5.4Ghz and 5.7/5.8Ghz.

The antennas used by the ISP and at the customer end appear to be the same, and about the size of a wine bottle. The antenna has to be installed outside the home at a high point by a technician. Ethernet cable is then run inside the house. Connection locally via Wi-Fi would seem technically possible, but is not mentioned in the documentation.

Motorola Canopy is a point-to-multipoint wireless networking system designed for WISPs (wireless internet service providers) based on a star network topology.

Canopy relies on a central access point (AP) placed on a hilltop or tower. These APs usually have 6 panels, allowing for omni-directional coverage of an area. Customers of the system receive service through subscriber modules (SMs) aimed towards the AP. The SMs must be mounted on a tall point of a building to get a reliable connection, else ground clutter will weaken the signal. Under ideal circumstances, no further equipment is required to receive service within a 3.5 mile radius of the AP ...

From: Motorola Canopy, Wikipedia, 16 April 2007