“Ten and you’re there”:
Satellite broadband for Community Networks

What is Broadband?

The Technical Answer:

Broadband communication is usually defined as an Internet connection that has a minimum bandwidth of 512Kbps (kilobits per second) and which is “always on”, so there is no delay waiting to connect to the internet.

The Plain Answer:

In short, data can be transferred at a very fast rate, which will mean that your connection can work typically 10 to 30 times faster than a normal dial-up modem, and will not conflict with people making telephone calls.

Can I get Broadband?

To enable an exchange for ADSL, BT sets trigger levels (if you’re lucky) for the number of registrations of interest they require before they will carry out the work to upgrade the exchange and install ADSL. These trigger levels are typically for hundreds of registrations, which is beyond the reach of many communities.

(Update: April 27th 2004, BT announce adoption of a roll-out strategy to replace the trigger levels.  This should bring ADSL to a higher number of UK exchanges, leading to a higher proportion of UK users with access to that technology).

Even if a community achieves the trigger level, many of those who have registered will discover that they are unable to get ADSL, either because they are too far from the exchange, their wiring is not good enough, or some other technical reason rules them out. However, in spite of what you might think from the huge advertising campaigns, broadband does not necessarily involve BT, and there are other options available.

Broadband is available anywhere in the country; satellite broadband has national coverage. One of the downsides to satellite broadband is the cost – starting at £199+VAT per month, it is out of the reach of most households and SMEs. Or is it?

It is possible to share a broadband connection out to other members of the communities, thus sharing out the costs and making affordable broadband a real possibility. The way to do this is by creating a wireless mesh network which allows the broadband “backhaul” to be offered to subscribers using inexpensive WiFi equipment which is readily available. Aramiska, one of the satellite broadband providers appreciates that this is a means to make connections affordable to a wider market, and consequently are happy to allow subscribers share out connections in this manner.

There are initial installation costs, together with ongoing running costs. The precise costs will vary with the type of connection chosen, but let's start with the basic offering. The cheapest Aramiska offering starts with the Aramiska ARC500 service, which offers a download speed of 512kbps, and an upload of 128kbps. The installation cost is nominally £500+VAT (although you can often negotiate a rate of £250+VAT). Monthly costs are £199+VAT. I would commonly suggest sharing this connection at a subscriber rate of £25 a month/£50 per month for businesses, with an initial connection fee of £50. This connection fee covers the costs of the installation together with the fixed costs of setting up the mesh network. These rates broadly match the costs of ADSL connections with BT.

These figures show that with 10 subscribers paying £25/month, the service becomes self-supporting. As the numbers of subscribers increase, it becomes possible to increase the speed of the connection, and/or reduce the subscription costs. For example, the cost of a 1Mbps connection is £249 per month, and a 2Mbps connection is £349 per month. As your subscribers increase, it becomes possible to reduce the cost per subscriber at the same time as providing a faster service.

Wireless Mesh Networks

A standard wireless access point provides a wireless network connection to devices in immediate range (normally between 50-100m). You are not normally able to extend the range by connecting another device over a wireless connection (it is technically possible up to a point, but results in severe performance issues). A mesh network is a means of connecting together wireless access points through wireless connections, and thus extending the range of a broadband internet connection to a much larger area. It does this by connecting separate networks together, and hopping from one to the next, rather than by trying to extend the range of a single network. As such, it does not suffer from the performance issues mentioned above.

Digital Dales uses the LocustWorld MeshAP system to do this (details available at http://www.locustworld.com). This is an open source project to develop mesh networks, and has been successfully used to build many wireless networks. The basic cost of a box is £250+VAT, plus extra for antennas and cables as necessary. The precise cost will depend upon the local circumstances, such as topography, line of sight, distance etc. Part of the initial connection cost allows the construction of the initial mesh network. As more people connect to the network, their connection fees allows the growth of the mesh to cover a wider area.

Client computers see each meshbox as a normal access point. They connect as they would to any other access point. The meshboxes control authentication to connect to the network, and also can control the bandwidth to make sure that the network is not abused by a few users. There can be different classes of user, which can relate to the different subscription rates.
What Next?

If you are thinking of setting up a community network, contact Digital Dales (satellite@digitaldales.co.uk) who can advise you on your options and your next moves. We have extensive experience of setting up community networks, and are Aramiska resellers which allows us to act as a single point of contact. Remember, you don’t have to try and reach the huge numbers of a BT trigger level. Just 10 and you’re there!

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