In a rural area the WISP might find a tall structure such as a farmer's grain silo or a municipal water tower to install a point to multi-point (PtMP) antenna but such structures are not common and usually not in the best location for a PtMP antenna. When building a PtMP antenna in a #rural area the first approach is to look for an area of high ground to install a PtMP antenna in order to have the maximum possible range so that as many customers as possible are included in the coverage area. If the hill that is found to install the PtMP antenna is a high point in relation to the surrounding area then it is possible that no tower construction is required.
The #network operations center (NOC) will be constructed at a location where there is electrical power and where the wholesale broadband provider can deliver a data circuit. The NOC location will have a point-to-point (PtP) #wireless link to the tower so there must be line-of-sight (LoS) between the NOC and the tower. If no LoS then an intermediate relay/repeater will be installed at some point between the NOC and the #PtMP tower to provide the wireless PtP connection. If the land is flat then a tower will have to be constructed at a point that will give coverage to a large number of potential customers.
The tower PtMP and PtP equipment will require electrical energy and can be powered by a solar panel and wind turbine with battery storage. The #WISP will also have to negotiate with the landowner to pay rent for the location however the cost will be much less than for a tower located in an #urban area.
The density of rural customers will be low and so the WISP should carefully analyze the prospective customer area to ensure that there will be enough customers to achieve break even with the tower installation. Too few customers will mean that the #tower installation will never make a profit, as the cost of delivering the Internet service will exceed the revenue from customers.
The diagram below illustrates a rural PtMP antenna #installation.
The next diagram illustrates the equipment configuration at the tower.
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