Wireless Internet to stream into Fall River

Internet users in Fall River will soon be able to take their modems with them and get wireless Internet access almost anywhere in the city.

MegaNet Communications, an Internet service provider based in Fall River, will soon offer its customers Internet access through a non-line of sight wireless broadband network.

The 9-year-old company will use a 2.3 GHz broadcast band to run the area’s first broadband wireless network, said MegaNet Vice President Jim Smith.

“It’s very different from a wireless network in the home,” Smith said. “It operates in a different, licensed frequency.”

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The technology works like a cable modem, without the muss and fuss of needing to be plugged into a wall. Users plug in a rip wave modem that works like a radio, and can then use their computers anywhere within five miles of the two base stations – Smith said MegaNet has one on each side of Fall River. The portable modem can operate anywhere within that five-mile range. The coverage area includes parts of Somerset, Swansea, Tiverton and Bristol.

“Most wireless broadband networks generally require a patch antenna on the outside of a building that has line-of-sight to a base station,” Smith said. The advantage of MegaNet’s service, he added, is that it “floods” into the coverage area.

“You can pick up the signal straight through walls without the need for repeaters or other equipment. You can just walk into the building, put the modem on your desk and you’re online,” Smith said.

The technology should be impervious to things that block other wireless signals, like foliage, bad weather or other obstructions.

The 2.3 GHz frequency is leased from BalRivgam – Wilton, Conn.-based frequency brokers who own the 2.3 WCS spectrum all over New England. Smith said MegaNet leased the right to use the spectrum in Bristol County for 20 years.

When a company leases the rights to a portion of the broadcast spectrum and gets licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, no one else can get a license to use that frequency in that same area – which means MegaNet will be the only outfit using the 2.3 GHz spectrum.

“Because it’s licensed in a specific frequency, we can basically use it with more power to reach more people with no interference,” Smith said.

The technology will mainly be marketed to residential customers at a price in “the dial-up price range.” Smith said he expects the service to initially run at the speed of a T1 line.

“We have a decent amount of dial-up customers right now. … I expect this will be a nice upgrade,” Smith said. New customers signing up for the wireless broadband will have to buy a rip wave modem to take advantage of the technology. The device will plug into the computer’s Ethernet port or into a network hub or router. Smith said a battery-powered modem is available to make the system fully portable.

While MegaNet’s current client roster is predominately commercial users, the wireless broadband won’t be marketed toward those types of clients.

“This isn’t intended to replace FCC-tariffed T1 lines,” Smith said. The wireless broadband isn’t something that 20 or 30 computers can easily be run off of.

And because MegaNet is the only company licensed to use the 2.3 GHz spectrum, users don’t need to be concerned about the security of the network.

“All the communication between the base station and the radio is encrypted,” Smith said. “There’s no way you could pick up on someone else’s signal – they’re all specific to each radio.”

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