Connect to the Internet
Some locations have many Internet providers who sell to the Internet service and some locations have no providers. This list explains methods of connecting to the Internet.
- Data via ADSL over twisted pair telephone wire, useful distance is 3Km from the central office.
- Data over coaxial TV cable, useful distance is 3Km from the central office.
- Optical fiber, GPON provides 2.5Gb/s down and 1.25Gb/s up and a single fiber can connect up to 70Km.
- LTE /5G mobile Telco, point to multi-point (PtMP), data rates can exceed 250Mb/s for 5G. The customer antenna must have line of sight to the antenna tower.
- WiFi WISP point to point (PtP), data rates can be up to 1Gb/s. The customer antenna must have line of sight to an antenna tower.
- Wireless geo-stationary satellite (HughesNet), data rates of 50Mb/s+ are available. Distance ground to satellite is 22,000 miles so latency is high.
- Wireless LEO satellite (Starlink), data rate exceeds 100Mb/s+. The antenna must have a 180 degree view of the sky. Distance from ground to satellite is approx. 300 miles so latency is low.
Where there are no local Internet providers then the only method of connecting to the Internet is Starlink. However the cost of Starlink is too expensive for most of the earth’s population; the antenna costs over $500 and the monthly charge is nearly $200. Many people in remote rural locations are already installing community Internet by sharing the cost of the Starlink antenna and service between many people. The service is shared between many people using Guest Internet gateway products. More about sharing the Internet service in the next parts of this series.
Sharing the Internet service
Sharing an Internet service from any provider between many people is like sharing a cake with many people, everyone should have an equal slice.
Without sharing, the first person to slice the cake gets the biggest piece, and there is nothing left for the person who comes last.
The Guest Internet gateway shares the Internet service between many people, just like slicing the cake into equal slices. Guest Internet shares the Internet access by giving each person an access code; access codes have the following parameters for each person.
- Type of code, usually random letters and numbers.
- Duration of access, from 30 minutes to unlimited.
- Maximum download and upload data speed in Mb/s.
- Maximum download and upload data volume in Mbytes.
- Number of people who can use the code, usually 1 person, can be more.
- Start date and start time, the code can only be used after this date.
If desired, Guest Internet can give a bigger slice of the Internet to one person.
The codes are printed onto vouchers using any printer, 16 vouchers per page are printed. The vouchers can then be cut up and given to people or sold to people to recover the cost of providing the Internet service.
A simple system to share Starlink Internet
The simplest way of sharing an Internet service such as that provided by Starlink is using a Guest Internet K-series product. The diagram shows the GIS-K7 product, which is a powerful wireless access point combined with the gateway features that share the Internet service and print the access codes onto vouchers.
Check with the Internet service provider, such as Starlink, that your planned use of their service is within their terms and conditions of use.
The Starlink antenna and router needs the optional Ethernet connector. The GIS-K7 Ethernet port connects to the power supply and then to the Starlink Ethernet connector. Print the access code vouchers.
The GIS-K7 has no limit for the number of people who can connect to the WiFi but limit the connections to 25 or 30 to ensure that each user gets a good Internet service.
A high performance system to share Starlink Internet
Any Internet service such as that provided by Starlink can be shared using a Guest Internet GIS-R4 product. The diagram shows the GIS-R4 product, which is a powerful gateway with features that share the Internet service and print the access codes onto vouchers. One or more wireless access points are connected to the GIS-R4 to provide Hotspot access for mobile devices, and fixed wireless access (FWA) to homes.
Check with the Internet service provider, such as Starlink, that your planned use of their service is within their terms and conditions of use.
The Starlink antenna and router needs the optional Ethernet connector. The GIS-R4 WAN port connects to the Starlink Ethernet connector. Print the access code vouchers using the Guest Internet cloud service which is free to use.
The GIS-R4 has no limit for the number of people who can connect to the WiFi. Starlink suggests that the number of users should not exceed 100 however limit the connections to about 50 to ensure that each user gets a good Internet service with a maximum speed per user of 2Mb/s.
Connect to the Internet WiFi service using vouchers
An Internet service that is provided by businesses such as Starlink can be shared between many people if controls are in place to prevent one person getting a large share of the bandwidth. Guest Internet products provide the controls that permit many people to share one Internet connection.
The community service provider should install the Guest Internet product together with the Internet service, which can be Starlink, and install a wireless access point to broadcast the WiFi signal.
The community service provider should use the Guest Internet free cloud service to print vouchers using the parameters the permit sharing of the service.
A person can connect a mobile device to the WiFi antenna when in range and use the code from the voucher to access the Internet.
The diagram illustrates the voucher printing and use process.
Connection process using the internet access voucher codes
The person who wants to access the Internet first has to connect the device to the wireless network then open a browser. The browser will show a login screen like the one in the figure. The code is obtained from the voucher and entered in the box on the login screen then the button is clicked. The browser then has access to the Internet for the time allowed by the code.
The code determines the conditions of connecting to the Internet.
- Duration, how long a person is allowed to use the WiFi with the internet access code.
- Maximum data speeds.
- Data download limit.
- Earliest date that the code can be used.
The parameters are selected when the code is generated. Many access codes are generated with the same parameters when vouchers are printed.
Provide Internet WiFi for mobile devices: mobile broadband
Internet access can be provided for mobile devices over a small area of radius 100m to 200m providing that the wireless access point is visible to the mobile device. The mobile device installation is suitable for a location where people frequently visit, such as a town square or a supermarket.
Ensure that there are no obstructions between the wireless access point and the mobile device. Obstructions that include walls, buildings and trees will block the WiFi signal.
The distance between the wireless access point and the mobile device is limited due to the limitations of the WiFi antenna in the mobile device.
Provide Internet WiFi for homes: fixed wireless access (FWA)
Internet fixed wireless access (FWA) can be provided for homes over a small area of radius of 1Km to 5Km providing that the home has a high gain antenna on the roof such as parabolic antenna. The wireless access point is visible to the antenna on the home roof.
The fixed wireless access installation is suitable for a location where The wireless access point can be installed on a high point such as a hill or tall tower.
Ensure that there are no obstructions between the wireless access point and the home roof antennas. Obstructions that include walls, buildings and trees will block the WiFi signal.
The distance between the wireless access point and the home roof depends on the gain of the antenna and the visibility between the two antennas.
Build a large community network using Starlink
A small community can provide Internet access for the people with one antenna. However a larger community such as a town may require several Starlink antennas with Guest Internet gateways and wireless access points to provide a good Internet service for all. A good estimate is to have 50 Internet users for each antenna. As people will not be constantly connected to the Internet then one Starlink antenna might serve a population of 250 people of which 50 will be using the Internet. A town of 1000 inhabitants might require 4 or more Starlink antenna locations.
The Guest Internet cloud can manage multiple antenna locations as part of a group. A voucher code can be used to login to any of the antennas and after login the user can move from one antenna to another, this is called roaming. There is no limit to the number of Guest Internet gateways that can be part of a group. The diagram shows 4 Starlink antenna sites with roaming between them.
How to power the Internet equipment in a remote community
Rural communities that have no or limited electrical power can have an Internet service using Starlink by powering the equipment from solar and wind. The diagram shows an installation that shares the Internet service with homes in a community. The antennas are mounted on a tower and the equipment is installed in a waterproof enclosure at the base of the tower.
The equipment list to power Internet network equipment as shown in the diagram.
- Solar panels (minimum 250 Watts).
- Wind turbine.
- Solar battery charge controller.
- Two vehicle batteries for 24 volts.
- Inverter, 24volts to 110volts.
Most network equipment is low power and consumes less than 10 Watts. The Starlink antenna consumes 100 Watts. Power generation should be 250W to 500Watts so that the batteries are charged and can continue to power the equipment at night and without wind.
How to provide Internet using a mobile network
In locations with a good 4G/LTE or 5G mobile phone service that that has a data contract, a data connection can provide low cost Internet for a rural community.
When a 4G/LTE or 5G mobile data service is available:
- Install a 4G/LTE or 5G modem with a directional antenna that has line of sight to the mobile tower.
- Connect the modem to a Guest Internet GIS-R4 to share the service.
- Connect the GIS-R4 to a wireless access point to broadcast the WiFi signal.
- Install a WiFi receiving antenna on each home roof with line of sight to the WiFi antenna.
- Provide users with a voucher code to access the service.
A 4G/LTE or 5G data service will cost less than a satellite service with the same speed.
If you have any questions, please contact support@guest-internet.com