How to increase your WiFi range, for fun and profits.
This is my first article on Steemit, I am an entrepreneur currently living in Acapulco, Mexico. I am a member of the local Anarcho Capitalist group here in Acapulco, and I provide internet services to some of the local Gringo population including Jeff Berwick of The Dollar Vigilante. For the last ten years I have been building Wireless Networks in Northern British Columbia, Canada. These Wireless Networks provide high speed internet access to rural users who do not have alternatives like ADSL and Cable. These Internet Service Providers are called WISP's or "Wireless ISP's" and they are sprouting up all over the world. They utilize off the shelf radio hardware from manufacturers such as Ubiquiti, Mikrotik and Cambium. Where ever there are under served homes and businesses there is serious potential to make money. In many areas they are able to compete directly with the large telephone companies.
Using products like the one below
you can legally use the unlicensed spectrum, which exists in the 2.4ghz and 5.8ghz bands to distribute internet or create your own private network. Distances up to 50km are quite feasible with larger antennas. You do however need line of sight, no hills, trees or other obstructions. If you can see from point A to point B with a pair of binoculars, it will probably work.
This particular radio the airGrid M2HP will allow you to access a hotspot or wi-fi access point from up to a kilometer away. I utilized a similar product on my trip down from Canada in my motorhome to extend the range of various Walmart, Home Depot and other stores Wi-Fi. This way I was able to keep in touch with friends and family and have almost full internet access every evening.
This unit is directional and requires that you aim it correctly for maximum signal, there is a built in wifi scanner built in to the unit. You could also use a "WiFi Analyzer App" on an android device to scan your local area for open hotspots. Once you have identified a potential candidate you simply enter the name or select the ssid from a list in the radio unit. The radio has a web page built in just like your typical router.
A set of these units, properly aimed, can provide internet connectivity at distances of up to 5 miles. This is quite literally Wi-Fi on steroids.
If there is demand for these types of articles I will happily go into further depth on how this technology works.
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Be aware that, in the U.S., if you are using a Wifi access from an "open or not" hotspot, make sure that the owner of the hotspot knows and give you permission to use it. As for the person providing that access, make sure they are allowed to "provide" the access. That means that if it is from home, make sure it doesn't go against the ISP's TOS(terms of service). I'm looking of some court cases where people may have been slapped with a felony for "theft of service" using a high powered antenna or similar.
It is good that this service is being provided, I just don't want anyone to get in trouble, when trying to "do what is helpful".
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