Any way to get wifi across town?

[MatthewJay]

I run the networks for a small business with two locations, separated by about four miles of residential area. We're only able to get a decent Internet connection at one location (the other can only get a slow DSL line), so the Internet-based solutions we've tried have been frustrating.

Is there any way at all to get a reliable wifi network set up between the two offices so we can share files, etc., without having to go over the Internet?

We can make some equipment investments, possibly including short towers, but probably cannot get zoning approval for anything that would provide actual line of sight. However, one of our volunteers lives about halfway between the two locations, so we might be able to set up some infrastructure there if necessary.

I have a feeling four miles with no line of sight may as well be the moon, but still, thought it was worth asking before looking into more drastic measures.

Any ideas on how we can link these two locations without going over the Internet?

 

[easp]

The answer is maybe. Don't like that answer? Ok, the answer is No.

People have sometimes been able to get away with impediments to line of site due to vegetation, but its not something people on the internet are going to be able to help you figure out one way or another. The good news is that gear to try it yourself is pretty inexpensive. Check out the Ubiquiti Nanostation M.

If that doesn't work, you might see what options are available over dry loop / alarm circuits, if those are still available.

 

[Fardringle]

If you can't get CLEAR line of sight at that distance, then the answer is simply, No.

 

[Red Squirrel]

You could look into something like these products: http://www.ubnt.com/broadband/

Not cheap though, and you would need to build a tower at one of the sites, possibly both, if there's any trees or other things in the way.

 

[azazel1024]

Wait for white space wifi. Otherwise the answer is no, not if no line of sight is present at that distance (Even at 2 miles, the answer is no).

With minimal obstructions, like a few trees, or a house in the way or something, with very high gain directional antennas you probably could punch a signal through a few hundred feet of modest obstructions.

If you had a line of sight range of 4 miles, introducing just 6dBm of signal attenuation, probably the equivelent of one tree in the way with foliage (and it could be more attenuation than that for a tree), would reduce the range to about 2 miles.

Rinse and repeat. A building could easily introduce 30-60dBm of signal attenuation if it was in the way, reducing the range to perhaps just a few hundred feet (supposing it could even punch through the building, though if you had a couple of 20-26dBi high gain antennas on either end, it'll probably go through a building, just not terribly far past a building).

Even with clear line of sight, wifi long links have issues. They can be worked around, but 4 miles is really pushing it even with nothing in the way. Bad weather could be enough to drop the link at those kinds of distances, depending on what kind of radio and antennas were on each end.

 

[xSauronx]

We can make some equipment investments, possibly including short towers, but probably cannot get zoning approval for anything that would provide actual line of sight. However, one of our volunteers lives about halfway between the two locations, so we might be able to set up some infrastructure there if necessary.

seems like moving the office would be an easier solution than building towers and trying to run wifi across a town.

how slow is slow dsl? are you mostly using office apps? it might be that web-based editing of shared files [like on google drive or one drive] would be worth considering, or is that what youve tried?

 

[kevnich2]

I run the networks for a small business with two locations, separated by about four miles of residential area. We're only able to get a decent Internet connection at one location (the other can only get a slow DSL line), so the Internet-based solutions we've tried have been frustrating.

Is there any way at all to get a reliable wifi network set up between the two offices so we can share files, etc., without having to go over the Internet?

We can make some equipment investments, possibly including short towers, but probably cannot get zoning approval for anything that would provide actual line of sight. However, one of our volunteers lives about halfway between the two locations, so we might be able to set up some infrastructure there if necessary.

I have a feeling four miles with no line of sight may as well be the moon, but still, thought it was worth asking before looking into more drastic measures.

Any ideas on how we can link these two locations without going over the Internet?

The answer is a complete depends. My suggestion is to try and find a company that specializes in commercial wireless installations and have them do a site survey (look for companies that install ubiquiti and/or motorola canopy systems). Wireless is completely dependent on your specific RF environment.

I've seen locations with a longer distance and no line of sight get a point to point at 100mb/s and I've also seen one that had two city blocks in between it and couldn't get the signal through. The only way to ensure signal passes is to gain line of sight between the two locations or get a tower tall enough to obtain LOS.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

You can get high frequency wireless solutions that will give good bandwidth but they require a very clear line of sight, If you are sticking with industry standard gear then you can sometimes get away with very mild obstructions but like the others have stated, its really hard to determine this over the internet due to the large amount of environmental variables. You could always hire a local wireless contractor to see what they think, the worst you are out at that point is a site survey for a couple hundred bucks

 

[avos]

Ubiquiti's forums are really helpful for figuring out what exactly you would need for something like this. Like others have said though, if you don't have clear line of site it really isn't worth even trying to pursue at those distances.