
Ask HN: How do i build my own network to access internet in a rural area? - nerdynapster
share any relevant technique, technology, resource, reference or anything you find helpful.
======
jason_slack
I live in a very rural area (on a lake with lots of state forest surrounding
me) where even to get DSL you need approval from Verizon.

I use Cradlepoint equipment to access the internet over LTE. I have wired the
house but also have wireless access points too. I prioritize the traffic
exiting so ensure that the really important stuff is first. Stuff related to
my job comes before my son on YouTube or Facebook, etc. I also block a lot of
outgoing traffic until certain hours of the day. (i.e no YouTube between 6am
and 8pm).

On a side note, I have also been looking at tools I use (rsync, scp, etc) to
see if there are ways to better help those on really limited connections.

~~~
atomical
I have thought about using an LTE modem, but currently I tether. I run my
whole connection through a VPN so I can use truly unlimited data with
T-mobile. I'm using 300+ gigs a month for around $100.

~~~
nerdynapster
how did you just do that?

------
citruspi
This might be a bit much for a single person, but your question reminded me of
a piece[0] from last November which covered the creation of a local ISP, the
Doe Bay Internet Users Association[1], on the Orcas Island after the residents
had poor experiences with CenturyLink.

The ISP also has some technical details on their website[2].

Previous discussion on that piece[3].

[0]: [http://arstechnica.com/information-
technology/2015/11/how-a-...](http://arstechnica.com/information-
technology/2015/11/how-a-group-of-neighbors-created-their-own-internet-
service/)

[1]: [https://dbiua.org](https://dbiua.org)

[2]: [https://dbiua.org/technical-details/](https://dbiua.org/technical-
details/)

[3]:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10487419](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10487419)

------
atmosx
How a colleague of mine managed to get internet access in rural Uruguay
[https://blog.scrapinghub.com/2016/04/27/a-not-so-short-
story...](https://blog.scrapinghub.com/2016/04/27/a-not-so-short-story-on-
getting-decent-internet-access/)

------
swah
Reminds me of this: [http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/09/man-builds-house-
the...](http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/09/man-builds-house-then-finds-
out-cable-internet-will-cost-117000/)

------
sheraz
I looked into this a few years ago when I was entertaining the idea of
bringing better-than-dsl speeds to a rural town. Here is what I learned:

Getting high speed internet to a rural location is a mix of cool tech, line-
of-site, politics, roof rights, friendly farmers, and chasing whoever controls
the nearest fiber. Oh, and $$$$$ MONEY $$$$$

Routers and network:

    
    
      - http://ubnt.com 
      - http://mikrotik.com 
    

Both sites have user forums that discuss not only the hardware but also all of
the above.

~~~
nerdynapster
line-of-sight between what and what? can't internet be accessed through
satellites? how much money may i expect to offer to the project?

~~~
walrus01
based on your questions, I recommend you hire a professional to implement your
project. As for money, how can you ask that question if the goals, location
and scope of your project have not been defined?

"I want to build a WISP covering an entire multi-county area in Montana with
200Mbps+ last mile services"

or

"I want to build a single point to point link with $95 ubnt radios 3km to
service an island"

totally different things.

------
dsfyu404ed
How rural? Is money a top concern? You could cobble together a bunch of
wireless broadband devices (or cell phones), a router and some load balancing
and voila. That's not really useful if you're too rural for cell service or
money is an object.

~~~
nerdynapster
rural enough to not to get a line-of-sight from a BTS (zero signal strength in
cellphone overthere) can spent money enough to serve, can not bear much loss.

------
TDL
This may be helpful, depending on the geography of the rural area:

[https://www.ubnt.com/](https://www.ubnt.com/)

~~~
nerdynapster
thanks. please share if you found any content on how to develop such a network
on my own

------
walrus01
You're basically asking "How do I start a WISP?". What is your existing level
of networking knowledge?

~~~
nerdynapster
during my graduation in telecommunication engineering, i has studied relevant
subjects such as "Telecommunication Switching, Traffic and Networks",
"Computer Networks", "Digital Signal Processing", "Wireless and Mobile
Communication" Topics such as OSI Layer, Network Topology, RF Engineering,
Microwave engineering,

~~~
walrus01
Uhhh. Have you ever worked for an ISP in any capacity? Personally worked with
fiber or microwave transport systems?

That list of stuff looks like something a person would copy+paste on a resume.

Not trying to dissuade you, but your initial question is really vague. Exactly
what are you trying to accomplish and where?

~~~
nerdynapster
exactly, i need to access internet at a place where you can not find even a
single cell-phone tower or a fiber-optic link in 100-150 km radius through
VSAT dish antenna (as only DBS-TV works over there).

