Frequently Asked Questions:

  1. What's the first step?
  2. Do I need to buy any equipment?
  3. What is my speed really going to be?
  4. What does the radio look like? How big is it?
  5. My location is completely surrounded by lots of tall trees or tall buildings. Can I still get service?
  6. Can I use my WiFi card to get onto your system?
  7. Is this a mobile service?

What's the first step?

Give us a call, come by or drop us an e-mail and request a site survey. One of our technicians will determine if we can get a signal to your location, which usually requires a site visit. If everything's OK, we can install the service.

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Do I need to buy any equipment?

For most new customers, the answer will be "No", most new systems these days come ready for networking. If your computer is not network ready, you will need to have an Ethernet card installed. We can do this at the time of service for an additional charge. If you are hooking up more than one machine you will need an internet router, hub or switch, which we can also provide for an additional charge if you do not have one.

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What is my speed really going to be?

Our network is designed to be capable of delivering in excess of 4Mbps to each customer. We, unlike many internet service providers, have a CIR (Committed Information Rate). What this means is that we guarantee that even during high traffic hours, your speed will be at a minimum of 50% for residential service and 70% for business service of your contracted sustained rate. This way, you are still up and surfing fast even in "prime time". With many other service providers, service often comes to a crawl during these times. During non-peak hours you should expect to see data rates at or even above your contracted rate, depending on what you are doing.

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What does the radio look like? How big is it?

Not very! It's about 4x12 - the picture on the home page is an actual installed unit. In some cases we may need to install a reflector dish on the unit, in which case, it looks very similar to the Dish Network / DirecTV type dish. Also there may be cases where we need to get more height on a unit to allow good reception, requiring a pole similar to a television antennae pole. All installations are performed in such a way as to have minimal impact to the appearance of your residence.

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My location is completely surrounded by lots of tall trees or tall buildings. Can I still get service?

The short answer is "No, probably not." In order for the connection to work properly the unit mounted at you location needs to "see" the main access point that its communicating with. But there may be a hole through the obstructions or we may be able to put up an extended reach antenna. We will be able to determine more on our site survey, we'd be happy to check for you. If it is determined that you cannot get service now, keep in mind that we will be continuing to install more access points in the future and it may become possible to give you service at that time.

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Can I use my WiFi card to get onto your system?

Definitely Not! Our system uses a proprietary signal that cannot be used with WiFi equipment. This ensures that the system remains secure. If you desire to use WiFi to connect to other computers at your location, this will require other equipment be installed there. If this is something you would like to add, we can assist you with that as well for an additional charge. 

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Is this a mobile service?

No, it is what is called a fixed wireless service, it is not designed to function while in motion. However, if you change locations frequently, (like a construction job trailer) this could be an ideal solution for you. Just move to the new location, ensure that the subscriber unit can "see" the access point and power up, you're online!

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Support Team
Copyright © 2005  Great Oaks Wireless,  All rights reserved.
Revised: February 23, 2005 .