Tales from the Towers: Chapter 64 – Migrate or Migraine, pretty much the same thing

This article is going to be specific to migration from Ubiquiti to Mimosa in one area that is perfect for Mimosa and still has hundreds of Ubiquiti outdoor radios operating. We aren’t abandoning Ubiquiti. We opened up new areas last year with them, hundreds of miles of area coincidentally, right next to our Mimosa deployments. […]

Tales from the Towers: Chapter 63 – Growing Pains

I’ve traveled the WISP road for a lot of years. Not as much as some, but more than others. In these travels to far and strange lands, from California (so very strange) to Florida (land of mosquitos that are so big they can dislocate your shoulder when they attack), I’ve met and heard from many […]

Tales from the Towers: Chapter 62 – Ubiquiti versus Mimosa Networks PTP– Battle Royale?

Well, not really a Battle Royale more like a thumb wrestling match. It wasn’t what we wanted but the weather Gods just made it tough to do much more so it at least gives us a foundation to start with. At 112 degrees Fahrenheit outside and the temperatures on the roof and tower being much […]

Tales From the Towers: Chapter 61 – Migration is for the Birds

We’ve talked about migrating from 802.11n to 802.11ac or from one manufacturer to another and all the pains involved with that. Sometimes it goes as smoothly as putting on a bandaid, other times more like ripping it off, taking the scab with it, and then it keeps throbbing for days after. Before I make you […]

San Juan Islands in Washington state: successful rural fiber broadband deployment

Too many rural areas in America still have slow broadband service. San Juan Islands (Washington State) used to have only DSL (1 Mbps) service provided by CenturyLink, and spotty cellular phone coverage from AT&T and Verizon. Recently, however, Orcas Power and Light (OPALCO), a rural electric cooperative, created a wholly owned private subsidiary called Rock […]