Provide Internet for a community with a wireless network

Many people who live in communities around the world have no access to the Internet. There is no type of communications data connection to the community. However communities anywhere in the world can now provide community members with a great Internet service, even the most remote rural community can get Internet access. A combination of products can provide Internet in the homes of community members.

Read on to find out how.

Several items are required to provide community homes with Internet

• The Internet connection, this can be a Starlink satellite antenna with a monthly service plan.
• The Guest Internet controller that shares the satellite Internet with many people and also has methods to charge for the service when required.
• A powerful outdoor wireless access point that will broadcast the Internet service to members using WiFi. Mobile devices can also connect to this antenna.
• The home installation has two components that are provided as ready configured kits, called the Star-4 and Star-16.

The products that are required are shown connected in the diagram.

Type of connection to the Internet

There are several types of physical connection to the Internet that can be used to provide Internet for a community. Some types are listed below.

• Copper cable, ADSL.
• Fiber cable.
• Geo-stationary satellite antenna.
• Low earth orbit satellite antenna (Starlink).
• Wireless point-to-point link from a distant location, less than 5Km.

If a copper or fiber data connection is available for a community then community members already have Internet access and do not need the information provided in this document.

Many people ask if a 4G-LTE Internet connection can be used to share Internet with the community. The answer is no, a 4G-LTE service is not suitable to provide Internet for a community for two reasons

• 4G Modems block the connection of routers (like the Guest Internet controller).
• The monthly 4G-LTE data quota is very low; there is no data to share with a community.

The most popular method of Internet connection for many communities that have no Internet access is the Starlink Internet service. A Starlink antenna is intended to provide the Internet connection for one home, however with Internet service management the Starlink antenna can provide an Internet service for a community of several hundred people when the time connected and access speed of each person is limited. This is the reason that all community Internet installations using a Starlink antenna for the Internet connection also require an Internet controller, like the models manufactured by Guest Internet, to ensure that the service is shared and the Starlink antenna is not overloaded. The Guest Internet controller also has several methods to charge for the Internet service.

Starlink manufactures several different antenna types and also offers different service plans. The choice of antenna and service plan is determined by the installation.

The central wireless installation

The WiFi Internet is radiated by the central wireless installation and so the central wireless installation should be located in the center of the community. The central wireless installation has three components.

• The Starlink satellite antenna and monthly service plan.
• The Guest Internet controller that shares the Internet connection between many people and can charge for the service.
• The powerful wireless access point that transmits the WiFi signal.

The three components are connected as shown in the diagram. The Ethernet connection of the Starlink antenna router connects to the GIS-R4 controller. The GIS-R4 is used to generate access codes that can be printed onto vouchers, using a computer connected to the GIS-R4. The access codes have duration of connection and a maximum data speed that is chosen when the access code is generated. 

The Star-7 kit shown in the diagram has a high power wireless access point, the HWAPAX820, which operates at the maximum power output permitted by the FCC. 

There are other Guest Internet kits for the central wireless installation that are chosen for the desired performance; the data speed and the number of people that will be connected.

The wireless access point antenna is omni-directional and radiates around the central location.  The radiation of the antenna is shown in the next diagram when viewed from above. The distance of connection depends on the device that is connecting; approximate distances are shown in the diagram.

Note that any obstruction, a building or tree, in the path of the WiFi wireless signal will block the signal.

The equipment is powered by electricity. If an electricity grid connection is not available then it will be necessary to have a solar power system to provide power for the equipment. The solar power system has the following components.

• Solar panels with 500 Watts output
• Batteries with 100Ahr capacity
• Solar panel to battery charger
• Inverter to provide the line voltage

The GIS-R4 controller and PtMP wireless access point are low power products and consume less than 10 Watts each. These two products can be operated from low DC voltages of 12 volts and 48 volts. The Starlink antenna consumes in the range of 100 Watts to 150 Watts and requires a connection to a 110v A/C supply.

The equipment configuration for the central wireless installation with solar power is shown in the next diagram.

Mobile users can connect to the central wireless installation

Users with mobile devices can connect to the central antenna over short distances. The maximum distance is determined by the quality of the mobile device. An iPhone can communicate over 100m line of sight, whereas a low cost Android phone might only communicate over 20m line of sight.
 
It is important that the central wireless access point is installed on a high point, a roof or tower, so that it is visible for mobile device users. Any obstacle such as a tree will block the WiFi signal.

The Guest Internet access controller determines how the mobile users will get access to the Internet. If the controller is configured to require access codes then the mobile user must provide a code to connect to the Internet.

The next diagram illustrates several mobile users accessing the central antenna.

How homes connect to the central wireless installation

A home can connect to the central antenna over a much longer distance than a mobile device can. The reason is that the home has a wireless product that is designed to communicate over a long distance. This is the client premise equipment (CPE), which is a wireless receiver that is installed on the roof of the building. The CPE must have line of sight to the central antenna. The CPE has a directional antenna that is pointed towards the central antenna. The directional antenna is the reason that the CPE can communicate with the central antenna over long distances. Then next diagram shows the directional antenna of the CPE.

The CPE receives the WiFi signal from the central antenna and converts the wireless connection to an Ethernet connection. The CPE is powered over the Ethernet cable that also feeds the data from the CPE antenna into the home.

The Ethernet cable from the CPE receiver connects to a wireless WiFi router inside the home. The wireless router provides WiFi Internet for the residents of the home.  Mobile devices can connect to the wireless router WiFi. Wired Ethernet devices can connect to the wireless router LAN ports.

The configuration of the Internet access controller at the central location determines the procedure that is used to connect to the Internet. If entering a code authorizes the access to the Internet then the person managing the central location must print a voucher with a code for each home that connects to the central antenna. An alternative is to install the payment system that accepts mobile money (MoMo).

The first diagram on the next page shows the installation of the CPE and wireless router in the home. The second diagram shows how the CPE and wireless router are connected together.

Diagram above: Equipment installation in the home.

Diagram below: Connection of the CPE and wireless router equipment.

The rules for connecting a home to the central wireless installation

There must be a line of sight between the CPE antenna and the central antenna. Line of sight means that if a person is standing at the position of one antenna, then the other antenna can be seen in the distance. Any obstacle such as a building or a tree will block the WiFi signal.

In addition to having line of sight between the two antennas, the antennas must be lifted up further for a clearance called the Freznel Zone. If the clearance is not provided then the WiFi signal will be blocked.

For a WiFi connection using 2.4GHz wireless then the line of sight between the two antennas must be at least 5.6m above any obstacle for each Km of distance between the antennas.  Therefore a distance between the antennas of 3Km will require a clearance of 16.8m above any obstacles.

For a WiFi connection using 5.8GHz wireless then the line of sight point between the two antennas must be at least 3.6m above any obstacle for each Km of distance between the antennas.  Therefore a distance between the antennas of 3Km will require a clearance of 10.8m above any obstacles.

For communication over long distances it is essential that the antennas be installed on towers to ensure that the Freznel Zone clearance requirements are met.

The Freznel Zone clearance is shown in the diagram.

Control Internet access and set access conditions for each home

Access to the Internet is controlled and requires authorization. The method of authorizing the user to access the Internet is to provide an access code that the user enters when connecting to the network. Entering a valid access code will authorize the user to access the Internet.

The Guest Internet controller generates access codes. It is necessary to connect a computer to the Guest Internet controller and then use the controller software to generate codes. When the access codes have been generated they can be printed as vouchers using a letter size printer attached to the computer. Alternatively the access codes can be displayed on a mobile phone and passed verbally to the user.

Vouchers are printed 16 per letter sheet and then cut up to give or sell to users. Up to 10,000 vouchers can be printed at one time.

The next diagram shows the connection of a computer to the Guest Internet controller using an Ethernet cable. The administrator has to login the computer to the Guest Internet controller administration software with the username and password. Alternatively the computer can connect to the WiFi wireless access point to login as the administrator and generate the access codes.

The user receives a voucher with a unique access code. The access code is generated with parameters that determine how the Internet is used. The parameters are as follows.

• Duration of access from 30 minutes to unlimited access.
• Essential: maximum download and upload data speeds.
• Optional: maximum download and upload data byte counts.
• Optional: set the start date and time after which the code can be used.
• Number of people who can use the code concurrently, from 1 to unlimited, the default is 1 user.

The code display options are;

• Print codes on vouchers.
• Print a list of codes.
• Download codes as a comma separated value (CSV) file for scratch-off card printing.

When the user connects to the network the user opens a browser tab and types the name of the login pages, aplogin.com. The login page is displayed as shown in the next figure. A box is visible for the user to enter the access code provided. After entry of a valid access code the user is connected to the Internet.

Connecting many homes to the central wireless installation

A number of homes can connect to the central wireless access point. The number depends on several factors.

• Data speed of the Internet service.
• The maximum data speed allocated for each user.
• The performance of the wireless access point, limited by the maximum number of concurrent clients that can be connected.

An Internet service such as Starlink can have a throughput of 150 Mb/s. If each home is allocated a maximum of 2Mb/s then up to 75 homes (150/2 = 75) can use the Internet service concurrently. As not all homes will be using the Internet at he same time then more than 75 homes can be connected to the central antenna. The CPE antenna on each home must have a line of sight to the central antenna, and the height requirements for Freznel Zone clearance must be observed.

The Guest Internet controller and cloud has comprehensive monitoring features. The following network points can be monitored and in each case when a failure is identified an alert email message is sent to the administrator.

• Monitor the WiFi connection to each home for failure of the link.
• Monitor the Guest Internet controller for failure.
• Monitor the Internet connection (Starlink) for failure.
  

Managing the Internet service for many homes

A Guest Internet controller has all the software required to manage the Internet service for the people connected to that controller. Guest Internet customers can have many controllers installed in different locations. For a large network with many locations the Guest Internet cloud is used to manage the service for all the users in all the locations.

The Guest Internet cloud is a free service included with all Guest Internet controllers. One cloud account can have an unlimited number of Guest Internet controllers assigned to the account. Groups are created within a cloud account and Guest Internet controllers can be assigned to groups. Cloud groups have two important features.

• Create access codes for a cloud group that are authenticated by any controller that is part of the cloud group, use the cloud group to print access code vouchers that can be sold to users.
• Connect any external system, such as a mobile money-billing gateway, to a cloud group via the cloud application program interface (API) so that the Internet service can be paid using mobile money. There is no limit to the number of controllers that are assigned to a mobile money account.
• Roaming of users between the locations of controllers in the group.

The Guest Internet cloud has other important features, such as failure monitoring of the Internet connections, the GIS controller and the homes that are connected to the controller. The next diagram shows how the GIS cloud can manage the Internet service at many locations.

The Guest Internet products that connect homes

The STAR-4 kit is pre-configured for a home Internet installation that connects to a central antenna base station, such as the STAR-6, STAR-7 or STAR-8 kits.  

The kit contains the CPE120 roof mounted directional antenna (called the client premise equipment or CPE) that communicates via wireless to the central antenna.

The CPE120 antenna communicates with the central antenna using the frequency of 2.4GHz.

The CPE120 is connected to the IN7620 wireless router installed in the home that provides WiFi Internet for the home residents.

The STAR-16 kit is pre-configured for a home Internet installation that connects to a central antenna base station, such as the STAR-6, STAR-7 or STAR-8 kits. 

The kit contains the CPE200 roof mounted directional antenna (called the client premise equipment or CPE) that communicates via wireless to the central antenna.

The CPE200 antenna communicates with the central antenna using the frequency of 5.8GHz.

The CPE200 is connected to the IN7620 wireless router installed in the home that provides WiFi Internet for the home residents.

The difference between the STAR-4 and STAR-16 kits is the WiFi frequency that is used to connect to the central antenna. Guest Internet STAR-6, 7 and 8 central antenna kits have dual band wireless access points and so both the STAR-4 and STAR-16 kits can connect to these central antenna kits.

The advantages and disadvantages of each frequency for connection are listed below.

• 2.4GHz advantages: lower cost.
• 2.4GHz disadvantages: higher interference in urban areas means shorter communications distances, the antennas have to be mounted higher on towers due to the larger Freznel Zone clearance.
• 5.8GHz advantages: higher data speed, longer distance of communication due to less interference. Smaller Freznel zone clearance required.
• 5.8GHz disadvantages: higher cost

Both the STAR-4 and STAR-16 kits are pre-configured to connect to a STAR central antenna kit. Just plug the equipment together to start connecting to the Internet.  Customers that wish to configure the equipment will see this information provided on the comprehensive 20-page configuration guide that accompanies the product.

Next steps

Prepare a plan of the network installation for your community; here is a checklist to help you start.

·    What are the Internet services available and the data speed?
·    How many homes are to be connected?
·    Identify the location for the central antenna?
·    Do all homes have line of sight to the central antenna?
·    Calculate the cost of the equipment?
·    Are people available who can install the central location and home installations?
·    Who will manage the Internet service and pay the ISP monthly fee?
·    How will residents pay for the Internet service?

Guest Internet has a lot of information to help people start community Internet services, contact us with your questions: support@guest-internet.com