Rick, there is a heck of a range of technology out there as you know. Anything from the old Alvarion hoppers to the new stuff using N from Ubiquiti and Mikrotik + dog.
It isn't the same game anymore, provided you can get your Internet pipe(s) at a reasonable price. Guaranteed bandwidth from a WISP is certainly do-able now, and the numbers I've seen in this thread are on the low side. Have you played with the new stuff that can actually deliver 100Mbits per AP? Its stunning. There are still some rough edges in both the firmware and certification, but this is the future. QoS is still an issue of course, the customer will eat whatever we can give them and then some... George -----Original Message----- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of RickG Sent: Sunday, November 08, 2009 1:25 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Metered Billing No, but they expect to get their speed every time they get on and they are great at running speed tests. I understand we are int he business of shared bandwidth but the equipment can only handle so much. It goes back to proper ratios. When you do the numbers properly, it doesnt make financial sense. On Sun, Nov 8, 2009 at 9:45 AM, Jayson Baker <jay...@spectrasurf.com> wrote: > Not everyone uses 6Mbps all day long. > > On Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 7:52 PM, RickG <rgunder...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Thats one way to utilize bandwidth shaping but how do you " guaranteed > > minimum of 1.5Mbps, 4Mbps and > > 6Mbps" at those low rates to every use and make money? Maybe I'm wrong > but > > the problem I see is that you will end up having unhappy subscribers when > > their expectations are not met. Thats where the premium rates can come > in. > > I > > find people all the time who would pay more for committed speeds if it > can > > be delivered. > > > > BTW: Cricket Communications, subsidiary of Leap Wireless has lost money > > since its inception and continues to do so. Give me an example of an > > non-subsidized "all you can eat service" company in a competitive market > > that actually makes money (bottom line). > > > > > > On Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 4:55 PM, Jayson Baker <jay...@spectrasurf.com> > > wrote: > > > > > Ya know, we've looked at this many times over the past couple years, > and > > > even tested it for a bit. > > > > > > Fact is, people like unlimited, and not having to guess. I, myself, > > being > > > a > > > fairly lite user of the Internet, would still always opt for an > unlimited > > > plan--even if I knew my bill may be lower on a pay-per-use plan. I > have > > > unlimited cell phone minutes, txt messages, etc. If I could pay for > > > unlimited utilites, I'd certainly do that too! > > > > > > We've got the infrastructure in place for a pay-per-use, and could > > activate > > > it at anytime. We tried selling it about a year ago, and people just > > > didn't > > > understand the concept. People aren't used to it--most people got > online > > > when Internet was $19.95/mo for dialup (or, $22.95 for AOL!), and don't > > > remember the 10 for $10 dial-up packages. Nobody knows what ISDN with > > 300 > > > hours is. > > > > > > We currently offer 12Mbps service for $24.95/mo. This makes us the > > fastest > > > in the area, and the cheapest. We have local sales, support and > > > installations. We decided the way to win is to shape traffic--we offer > > > three 12Mbps packages; one with a guaranteed minimum of 1.5Mbps, 4Mbps > > and > > > 6Mbps. If you do nothing than browse, share pictures, etc. (i.e. > "normal > > > use") you'll always see the 12Mbps. But once you fire up a torrent or > > > Netflix, you only get that speed for 10 minutes--after that, you get > your > > > guaranteed minimum. Prices double from 1.5 to 4, and double again > going > > to > > > 6Mbps. We have never had a complaint about speed or price with this > > > structure. > > > > > > I'm hoping that the "big guys" do go to pay-per-use plans. Just one > more > > > way we can advertise and win against them. "Tired of counting your > bits > > > and > > > bytes? We're unlimited" Look at Cricket wireless--they've just > exploded > > > with customers on their unlimited-everything service. > > > > > > Just my 2 cents > > > > > > Jayson > > > > > > On Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 2:24 PM, Travis Johnson <t...@ida.net> wrote: > > > > > > > The cellular guys don't charge by the minute... I have an unlimited > > plan > > > > on my cell phone. I can also get unlimited text and internet access > for > > > > $9.95/mo extra. > > > > > > > > People don't want to guess what their internet bills are going to be > > from > > > > month to month. Would you want that at your own home? > > > > > > > > Travis > > > > Microserv > > > > > > > > > > > > Gary Garrett wrote: > > > > > > > > You sound like the cell phone company. > > > > I am convinced the big failure in my business model is I charge by > the > > > > month while the cellular guys charge by the minute. > > > > > > > > > > > > Travis Johnson wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > Hi, > > > > > > > > You are talking about having to add additional resources (radius, > etc.) > > > > to track it. Then you have to bill it. Then you get to deal with the > > > > phone calls from users that say "My computer wasn't even turned on > > > > during those times. Remove the charge or I will go elsewhere." So, > > even > > > > that one extra phone call costs you money (because you have to think > > > > about scaling). Imagine if you have 100x the number of customers you > > > > have now... does the same solution work? Probably not. > > > > > > > > The easier solution would be to call that customer and get them to > > > > upgrade to the next plan up (which would provide higher speed as > well). > > > > This works very well for us... and then I have that guaranteed extra > > > > income each month, even if they don't use it. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > > > WISPA Wants You! Join today!http://signup.wispa.org/ > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > > > > > > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > > > > > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > > > > > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > > > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > > > > http://signup.wispa.org/ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > > > > > > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > > > > > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > > > > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > > > > > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > > > http://signup.wispa.org/ > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > > > > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > > > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > > > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > > > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > WISPA Wants You! 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