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How to setup your own neighborhood broadband co-op

DISCLAIMER: Use this guide at your own risk and expense. It is your responsibility to check your local laws to ensure you meet all local electrical, fire, and building codes. We assume no liability for anything you do as a result of this guide. It is intended to be an informational resource only. We do not provide technical support for anything you purchase or do as a result of reading this guide. If you have questions, you may want to try asking at the Home-brew Broadband area of the forums at wallawallainternet.com ( http://www.wallawallainternet.com/forum/ ).  Some kind soul might be willing to help you out.

Tired of waiting around to get affordable broadband Internet access in your neighborhood? This article will give you a brief tutorial on how to setup a broadband co-op that will get you and your neighbors affordable broadband without waiting for a big company to decide you're worth it.

The first step of any endeavor of this sort is to determine how many of your neighbors within a one or two block radius of your house would be interested in receiving better broadband services for lower prices.  You don't have to get them to sign contracts, but a hand-shake wouldn't be a bad idea to have them affirm their support of your project.  Your total cost for setting this up will vary depending on what method you choose to do this, but will most likely be between $300 and $1200 depending on how elaborate you get.  Just make sure that you cover your costs.  Of course, the more people that join your project, the less it will cost for everyone.

We will be using some rather technical terms in this article, so if there is a term you don't know, please see the glossary at the end of the article.

Here is your shopping list:

1. 802.11b Wireless Access Point. Our favorite is the Linksys WAP-11, but most any Wi-Fi compliant 802.11b access point with an external antenna connector will do. If you use the recommended antenna kit below, you'll want a Linksys, Cisco Aironet, Proxim, or other access point with RPTNC antenna connectors. The Linksys can be purchased for between $99 and $150.  You can buy the Linksys at your local Staples store or most online computer outlets like http://www.insight.com or http://www.cdw.com .

2. An external omni-directional antenna, appropriate RF cable, and lightning protector.  Our recommended antenna kit can be purchased at http://www.hdcom.com/ by using part number HD19518 ($170 at the time of this writing) for the antenna and lightning protector. For the RF cable, you'll want part number HD19496-75 ($79.50) for 75ft of decent RF cable. You may need more or less cable, but 75ft should be fine for most installations.

3. Mounting hardware for the antenna. Our favorite is to use a TV antenna pole and metal hose clamps for securing the antenna to the pole.  If you don't already have a suitable mount point for the antenna, you can go to your local hardware store and pick up some stiff metal pipe (about 10ft is about the most you'd need) and all the doo-dads you need to attach it to your house.  You'll want to be sure to anchor it securely so that it can withstand heavy winds without coming loose.

4. Waterproof electrical tape and silicone caulking.  You will use this to weather proof your installation.

5. A small broadband router that does NAT. Again, we really like the ones that Linksys makes. They tend to be easy to setup and use. Linksys even makes a 802.11b wireless access point that comes with a built in router if you want an all-in-one device.

6. A broadband Internet connection to one house in the neighborhood.   Ideally, this connection would be at your house, but if you have a neighbor that doesn't mind you putting equipment in their house, that could work also. Make sure that you check the terms of service for the broadband connection you're getting.  Some have restrictions that could get you in trouble if you allowed your whole neighborhood to use it. Those clauses usually take the form of restrictions on third party use or restrictions on business use of the line.  If in doubt, call and ask the company if you can share the connection with your neighbors.  If you are unable to find a suitable broadband connection, try checking with local ISPs to see how much they would charge for a T1 line to your home.  Unless you're a wiz, make sure they include preconfigured equipment with any connection they try to sell you.  You don't want to get stuck trying to figure out how to get a T1 line working.  T1 lines can be delivered to many places that broadband connections (cable modem, DSL, etc.) aren't generally available.

7. A 10/100 Ethernet hub or switch.  Often times, broadband routers come with more than one LAN port (four seems to be common). If your router has more than one LAN port, you won't need a hub or switch.

Now, time to get your hands dirty. The following is a recipe that will take your jumble of parts and turn them into a broadband Internet access distribution system.

Here it is, step by step:

1. Configure your wireless access point according to the manufacturer's instructions. One item of importance is the channel selection.  Most come with a default channel selected.  You can use the default channel, but if you get slow or unreliable connections later on, you may need to change to a different channel, much like you would for a cordless phone.  You may want to consider turning on WEP if your device supports it and manually setting the key.  That way, only people you tell the key to (like your neighbors) will be able to use the wireless access point.  You don't want strangers running up bandwidth bills on your Internet connection without your knowledge.

2. Mount the antenna to the pole in the position you want it using metal hose clamps.  Since this is an omni-directional antenna, at the top of the pole is best.  Do not use the hose clamps on portions of the antenna that are not intended for mounting hardware. Do not over tighten the hose clamps.  You want them to hold the antenna firmly, but you don't want to crush or deform the antenna.  Sheet rubber (like from a bicycle tire inner tube or patch kit) wrapped around the mounting area of the antenna works great for making sure it stays where you put it. The rubber (if you use it) should be between the antenna and the pole and under the hose clamps.

3. Attach the lightning protector and RF cable to the antenna. Secure the cable and lightning protector to the pole so that it doesn't blow around. Plastic tie wraps work well.  If you use plastic tie wraps, they should be snug, but shouldn't pinch the cable.  Wrap electrical tape around from just above the top of the metal connector on the antenna to just below the metal connector part of the cable.  Start at the top and work your way down.  Do the same for each metal connector on the lightning protector as well.  The idea here is to waterproof the connections so you don't have to replace the cable or antenna later because of water damage.  DO NOT use any silicone caulking on it.  That gets used for something else. If you have an easy method for waterproofing that is easily removed later and won't leave a big mess, feel free to improvise here.  Just remember, water in an RF cable means weak and unreliable signals and dollars out of your pocket when you have to replace the cable.

4. Mount your antenna pole to your house near the apex of your roof (or use an existing pole).  The top of the pole needs to clear the highest point on your roof, but should not be sticking up so high as to attract lightning or violate city or county laws.  You'll want to be sure to select a point near enough to the location in your home that will contain the wireless access point so that you have enough RF cable to reach between the access point and the antenna.  Make sure you have relatively easy access to the pole in case you need to replace the lightning protector or antenna later on.  If you're not comfortable with this part, get a friend or construction company to do it.  If you rent your residence, make sure your landlord won't have a problem with it before you begin fastening things to the building. When done with this step, you should have a pole mounted on your building with an antenna and lightning protector at the top of the pole.  The cable you attached to the antenna and pole should be dangling near the area you want it to enter your home.

5. Drill an entrance hole for the cable.  Ideally, this should be in a wall under the eaves so that water won't fall directly on it when it rains. Make the hole just barely large enough to fit the dangling connector on the cable through.  If you get it too large, it is harder to weather proof it later.

6. Feed the cable through the hole you just drilled from the outside into your home. If it ended up in the attic, you may have to do some fancy crawling and drilling to get the end of the cable into the room that contains the wireless access point.

7. Take up all of the slack in the cable and attach the connector of the cable to the wireless access point.

8. Go back outside of your house to the cable entrance hole.  Pull the cable out through the hole just enough so that some of the cable hangs down lower than the hole.  This is so any water running down the cable won't go straight into the hole.  It will reach the lowest point on the cable and drip off at that point.

9. Caulk the cable entrance hole and let the caulking dry with the cable in that position.  If necessary, use a mounting bracket to secure the cable so that it doesn't get pulled further into the hole later. Be careful not to make the bend in the cable too tight. Any kinks or sharp bends in the cable could affect its performance and reliability.

10. Congratulations! The hardest part of the installation is now done.   You still have a few things left to do though, but you can wash your hands now.

11. Connect your broadband router to your broadband connection according to the manufacturer's and/or ISPs instructions. Test your Internet access with your PC to be sure it is working at this point.  NAT and DHCP should be turned on if they aren't already.  Make sure it works with those options turned on.

12. Connect your hub or switch to the LAN port of your broadband router using a CAT5 or better Ethernet cable. A link light should come on if both devices are powered on.  Some hubs or switches will have a cross-over port or cross-over switch (sometimes called "uplink").   You may need to use it to get the two devices talking to each other. If all else fails, use an Ethernet cross-over cable.  If your router or hub requires a cross-over cable, it is usually included.  See your router's documentation. If your router has a built in hub or switch, you can skip this step.

13. Connect your wireless access point to the hub, switch, or an extra LAN port on your router. Again, you may need to use a cross-over switch, cross-over port, or cross-over cable to get the two devices talking to each other.  Again, a link light will indicate success if both devices are powered on. If you have trouble, consult your wireless access point's documentation.

14. Connect your own computer to a port on the hub. Make sure you turn off file sharing or use firewall software if you don't want any of your neighbors poking around on your computer.

14. Turn on all devices in the following order: your broadband modem (cable modem, DSL modem, etc.), wait about 30 seconds, then your broadband router, your ethernet hub, and finally your wireless access point.  The order is important mainly for the broadband modem and the broadband router which depend on being powered up in a certain order to function properly.

There! You're done!  Now the only thing left to do is get your neighbors setup.

Setting up your neighbors is fairly simple. The process may vary from house to house, but it's pretty straightforward. Here are the steps to get your neighbors up and running on their new broadband service:

1. They will need to install a wireless card into their computer. Configure it according to the manufacturers instructions. You will also want to test signal strength at this point using the software that came with the card. If the signal strength is strong enough, you won't need to do any more.  If the signal strength isn't good enough, try moving the computer.  If you still can't get a good signal, you may need a wireless network card that has a connector for an external antenna. The Lucent Orinoco cards have external antenna connectors and good signal strength meters. Other cards are always being released, so feel free to shop around.

2. If needed, purchase and install an external antenna for the wireless network card.  http://www.hdcom.com sells external antennas that work with the Lucent Orinoco cards. You might be able to find other places that also sell external antennas for the Orinoco cards.  Installation can be as simple as plugging it in, putting the antenna in a window, and pointing it at the antenna on your roof.

3. If you're still not getting good signal strength, you may need to mount the antenna outside of the house in a similar fashion as the one you put up at your house or change to a more directional antenna. More directional antennae tend to get better signal strength, but they can be harder to aim at longer distances.

4. Once you've got good signal strength, configure your neighbor's computer just like you configured your own computer.  The instructions with the broadband router should tell you how.  You may need to reboot once that configuration is complete.

5. Viola! Test the Internet connection by pulling up a web page in a web browser.  If you followed your directions, your neighbor should have a working broadband connection now.  Don't forget to turn off file sharing or install firewall software if that neighbor is concerned about other neighbors poking around on his/her computer.

There are some additional things that you may want to take into consideration. If you're going to provide your neighbors with email (vs. a http://www.hotmail.com account), you'll want to check into registering your own domain name and setting up an email server.  Your local ISP can assist with this.  If you need to send invoices to your neighbors, keep track of expenses, and track the money you receive, you may want to pick up some bookkeeping software like QuickBooks from Intuit.  You'll want to make sure that you report your income appropriately to any taxing authorities.  If you want to get elaborate, you could even setup a non-profit organization.  Just keep in mind that all those things will raise your cost and the price of the services you provide to your neighbors. So, be a good neighbor and keep your costs low. Seek out professionals like lawyers and accountants for tax and law advice.

This guide is not carved in stone. There is plenty of room for improvisation.  For instance, with the Linksys wireless access points, there is enough flexibility that you can actually connect two or more networks instead of just connecting a single computer to the network.  I'll leave that part up to your imagination.

Link of interest: Ruby Ridge Internet Co-Op. http://www.rric.net

This article was inspired by the antics of Qwest, the anti-competitive local telephone monopoly that refuses to service small towns like Walla Walla, WA with broadband Internet access service and routinely lobbies for laws that would put small town ISPs out of business.

This article was written by:
Andrew Kinney, CTO of Advantagecom Networks
http://www.advantagecom.net
Copyright 2002, All rights reserved.

You may reprint this article without permission ONLY if you include the article in its entirety, author information, URL, Copyright notice, and this reprint information.