Space Needle To Become WiMax Antenna 219
Technofusion writes "Seattle, Washington has found a new use for their aging
Space Needle. Three companies have
teamed up to turn the Space Needle into a giant WiMAX antenna. Bruce
Chatterley, CEO of
Speakeasy,
announced it will be the
biggest deployment of it's kind in North America with six towers, one placed on
the Space Needle and five others around the city , beaming a signal over
a 5 square mile area. Don't put away those 802.11b/g cards just yet, as WiMAX is projected to cost
$500 a month for 1.5Mb service."
Giant Cell Phone Tower? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Giant Cell Phone Tower? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Giant Cell Phone Tower? (Score:5, Funny)
$500 a month? (Score:4, Funny)
Oh, it's Slashdot. It's worth it.
Even worse (Score:3, Interesting)
It costs how much? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It costs how much? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It costs how much? (Score:3, Interesting)
Businesses in the industrial area that are in line of site of the space needle? Those towers on the Space Needle side of Capital Hill? Or how about those coffee shops that provide wifi access them selves.
Re:It costs how much? (Score:2)
Re:It costs how much? (Score:2)
Last time I checked the price range for SDSL 1.5/1.5 was there and abouts of $250/month or so, so you are correct SDSL would be about 1/2 the price. Nice option if you are lucky enough to be able to get SDSL. There are many dead zones between COs and some areas within a 5 mile radius of the Space Needle that you simply can't get anything above and beyond 192K SDSL. Not to speak of database erro
Re:It costs how much? (Score:3, Interesting)
Once, I even managed to check my e-mail while moving south on I-5. (Traffic was really bad, and no, I wasn't at the wheel...)
Re:It costs how much? (Score:2)
I'll have you know that at this very moment I am driving down the freeway while writing thiYTY$#%F*&#@(#
++ATH
NO CARRIER
Re:It costs how much? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It costs how much? (Score:2)
Giant Antenna, NOT (Score:5, Informative)
Those who live in Seattle know that the Space Needle is shorter than most of the downtown buildings, but it looks tall because zoning keeps high-rise buildings away from it. And there are plenty of higher points where additional antennas could be placed, some of them not even on high-rise buildings (eg. hills).
Re:Giant Antenna, NOT (Score:4, Interesting)
and photographers have a secret spot on Queen Anne Hill that with the compressed perspective of the right lenses make the Space Needle look like it towers over the skyline.
Re:Giant Antenna, NOT (Score:2)
Re:Giant Antenna, NOT (Score:3, Informative)
Maybe those same zoning regulations also help the range, with no pesky large buildings to block the signal...
Re:Giant Antenna, NOT (Score:3, Interesting)
Speculating: given the range and line-of-sightness of the signal, this may actually make the space needle a fine spot - being uncrowded and high enough, from there you can hit all the office buildings straight-on, instead of towering over them. Maybe from the top of the B of A building you could get better range out to the city limits, but not as good coverage to the tar
Re:Giant Antenna, NOT (Score:2, Informative)
# Name Height Year
01. Bank of America Tower 285 m 1985
02. Washington Mutual Tow.. 235 m 1988
03. Two Union Square 226 m 1989
04. Seattle Municipal Tow.. 220 m 1990
05. 1001 Fourth Avenue Pl.. 192 m 1969
06. Space Needle 184 m 1961
07. US Bank Centre 177 m 1989
08. Wells Fargo Center 175 m 1983
09. Bank of America Fifth.. 166 m 1981
10. Union Bank of Califor.. 163 m 1973
Re:Giant Antenna, NOT (Score:2)
I say (Score:5, Funny)
Doesn't *anyone* RTFM anymore? (Score:5, Informative)
From TFS:
And from TFA:
I know that editors can't be bothered to check the accuracy of stories, but you think that at least the submitters would RTFM...
Re:Doesn't *anyone* RTFM anymore? (Score:2)
Re:Doesn't *anyone* RTFM anymore? (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, it seems the submitter did "read the fine material", but didn't "understand the fine material". It's a reading comprehension issue that we need to resolve with this submitter.
Re:Doesn't *anyone* RTFM anymore? (Score:2)
Re:Doesn't *anyone* RTFM anymore? (Score:2)
Re:Doesn't *anyone* RTFM anymore? (Score:2)
Re:Doesn't *anyone* RTFM anymore? (Score:2)
Re:Doesn't *anyone* RTFM anymore? (Score:2)
Re:Doesn't *anyone* RTFM anymore? (Score:2)
I would look at Cogent, they have a giant network.
Re:Doesn't *anyone* RTFM anymore? (Score:2)
You won't need to pay $500 (Score:3, Funny)
$500 for 1.5Mbit? (Score:2)
They are sayi
Re:$500 for 1.5Mbit? (Score:2)
Re:$500 for 1.5Mbit? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:$500 for 1.5Mbit? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:$500 for 1.5Mbit? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:$500 for 1.5Mbit? (Score:2)
But you can't actually use your ~1.5 Mbit connection to its full potential all the time, your ISP would pull the plug quickly. Your service also isn't guaranteed to be up however-many-nines of the time. Cable can be had for $20/month for 4 megabit, but that's only 4 megabit peak, many ISPs have in the small print of the ag
Re:$500 for 1.5Mbit? (Score:2)
Re:$500 for 1.5Mbit? (Score:2)
Re:$500 for 1.5Mbit? (Score:2)
Re:$500 for 1.5Mbit? (Score:2)
Re:$500 for 1.5Mbit? (Score:2)
You're confusing asynchronous with asymmetric. A line with differing up/down speeds is asymmetric. Asynchronous/synchronous has to do with particular details of the line signalling protocol and means something completely different.
Can't they use for more productive things? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Can't they use for more productive things? (Score:2)
One more reason baseball players should stay away from needles.
HAHAHA (Score:3, Insightful)
They are trying to sell this as a replacement for buisness T1 thats why the prices are so high. Though I seriously doupt they can provide the reliability and the uplink speeds of a T1. Not to mention the fact that a 6Mb T1 really doesn't cost 6 grand anymore like they are trying to imply. Maybe it does in Seattle? Now if they can provide all my workers access to the internet (obivously their bandwidth would be set to max out as an aggregate to the 6Mb between all connections) from whereever they are in the city, $500 is a steal. Otherwise, no thanks.
Re:HAHAHA (Score:4, Informative)
HAHAHA
Re:HAHAHA (Score:2, Interesting)
I used to work at a small ISP where we pushed wireless access similar to this for business customers (but on a smaller scale than TFA is talking about). Basically, you put an antenna up on the customer's roof with line-of-sight to one of our POPs, toss in a router, then generally just run cat5 from the router to their inter
1.5 Megabits for $500 (Score:5, Interesting)
Perhaps someone should tell them that a company called Free offers access up to 20 Megabits for 30/month in France.
Oh, and it comes with free local calls and ADSL "cable" television.
That's actually a consequence of the Europe induced forced deregulation of the telecom industry. Competition is good.
Re:1.5 Megabits for $500 (Score:2, Insightful)
WiMax potentially would give anyone with access to it the ability to surf the web wirelessly within a 30 mile range of the antenna.
WiMax will be WiFi on steroids. Plus it allows you to surf while traveling at relatively high speeds. Your kids could be surfing the web in the backseat of your car as you travel down the highway.
Comparing it to ADSL or any other wired broadband internet service misses the point of the technology.
Re:1.5 Megabits for $500 (Score:2)
Re:1.5 Megabits for $500 (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:1.5 Megabits for $500 (Score:2)
Why?
Customers in Seattle can't and won't go to a company in France to get their wireless fix. They are not competitors.
Re:1.5 Megabits for $500 (Score:2)
Emphasis on "up to". The 1.5mbit service described isn't oversubscribed like the DSL you're referring to.
Also, 30 what? Euros? Dollars?
Hell, Verzion offers 30mbit for $50 a month in the US. It's called FIOS.
Re:1.5 Megabits for $500 (Score:2)
Ah yes, but can this ADSL do 20mbps upstream? The SpeakEasy product can be configured for up to 4mbps upstream.
Asymmetric connections are fine for the home, but get a dozen designers on an ADSL circuit and note how they whinge when thier 25MB documents take ten minutes to upload to the print shop next door.
WiMAX in its first incarnation (with fixed base stations for business use) will be a
Re:1.5 Megabits for $500 (Score:2)
As opposed to what?
Many local calls in Europe are metered per minute or per call. As are calls in NYC (11 cents per call when I lived there, on top of the base $25/month or so).
Re:1.5 Megabits for $500 (Score:2)
If you're stuck on dialup, then, okay, you don't want that. And maybe if you have a stereotypical teenage daughter.
Summary is a little off... (Score:4, Informative)
The needle itself isn't going to be turned into one giant antenna. They're just putting an access point on top of it (FTA: Antennas and radio equipment are being installed 605 feet up at the top of the Space Needle).
This is a plot from a movie (Score:3, Funny)
Kirk says... (Score:2)
Re:Kirk says... (Score:2)
Ryoko says: Kisama! <slice>
Re:This is a plot from a movie (Score:2)
bubble-busters agian (Score:2)
Hey, its either that or set the antennas at a optimum level on th
Not Wi-Fi replacement not $500 per month (Score:3, Interesting)
It's $800 per month for 6 Mbps aggregate bandwidth in either 3 up/3 down, 4 up/2 down, or 2 up/4 down configurations. It's intended for businesses that need more than T1 (about $500 per month in Seattle) and don't want to simply double their costs and increase their complxity.
Obvious Question... (Score:2)
Any comment taken seriously is the responsibility of the reader
Looks interesting (Score:3, Funny)
1.5Mb service = $800.00/Month
subscription to pornography site = $35.00/Month
Viewing high-speed porn using a recycled NASA instrument called a "Space Needle" = Priceless
Damn... (Score:2, Funny)
$500/mo is cheap, for someone (Score:2)
They're really selling to people who want more upstream bandwidth than a consumer/small-biz broadband connection provides.
It's a nice deal for an ISP who wants an alternate route, or for businesses that run their own in-house network over leased lines.
New uses for old architecture (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:New uses for old architecture (Score:2)
Hey, it already keeps burgers fresh and razors sharp. That's more than you can say for most of the other monuments.
Aging Space Needle??? (Score:2)
-Nick
Re:Aging Space Needle??? (Score:2)
I'm 43 years old and sometimes I feel pretty damn aged.
At least nobody's put an antenna on top of me...yet.
There's a BIG problem with projects like this! (Score:3, Informative)
We don't know this.... (Score:2)
But what about the latency? (Score:2)
wimax has ways of attacking this problem.
Anyone know whether the latency is likely to suck in practice?
why the ridiculous cost? (Score:2)
Technofusion? More like Technoconfusion (Score:2)
"What we're introducing today is the delivery of a 6 megabit --versus 1.5 -- data communications solution available for right around $800 a month. (That's) versus the 1.5 (megabit) solution that goes for about $500 a month."
It's $800/month for 6Mb/s with WiMAX, vs. $500/month for 1.5Mb/s T1. This is more business connections with guaranteed bandwidth. Consumer pricing for WiMAX will be competitve with Cable/DSL.
Unfortunately... (Score:2)
Really. I've been approached by many of them, and had them pitched to be the greatest thing in the world. However, I've worked on systems connected by every one of them, and without fail, every one of their networks sucked.
802.16 ..... (Score:2)
Re:$500 / month? (Score:5, Informative)
It is clear they are currently aiming this to be a cost effective upgrade from T1 lines.
6mbps fixed wireless for $800 a month, and it isn't mobile (at this time).
Re:$500 / month? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:$500 / month? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:$500 / month? (Score:2)
On a serious note. 500 bucks for a 1.5mbit link?
I thought the whole idea of this emerging technology was to drive the price down?!?
Note: I am the Walrus...
Re:$500 / month? (Score:2)
I would get concerned about pranksters or extorters trying to jam the signal. It's illegal to do that but the FCC doesn't seem to enforce their RF rules very much.
Re:$500 / month? (Score:2)
I was recently contacted by Time Warner Cable and they said they could do a 5x5 fiber connection for $750/mo (if I remember correctly). I went to the speakeasy site, and it turns out the 6 mbps connection is total bandwidth, and you have to decide how you want the up/down divided.
Not bad as a replacemnt for the T1 (other than the RF jamming issues and such)
Re:$500 / month? (Score:2)
The story is about Seattle. Will these couple of companies you know run fiber from Austin to Seattle? :)
Still uncompetitive (Score:2)
I'm in fairly rural area where i'd imagine demand is pretty low... surely in an urban area they should be able to offer it even cheaper.
Re:Fuck that. (Score:2)
Might want to check your numbers again.
Re:Fuck that. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Fuck that. (Score:3, Informative)
http://speakeasy.net/business/wimax/pricing.php [speakeasy.net]
Re:Fuck that. (Score:3, Interesting)
This should not be interpreted as a single 12MB/1.5MB connection, but with a little load balancing and partitioning, this can work quite well.
We have Comcast here in a building that we own. I believe that the pipe in can accommodate 8 or 12 full connections. From a technical viewpoint, is there any reason why this could not work? For $500, you could end up with a lot
It's actually a good deal (Score:2)
1) Your comcast network has no SLA. If it goes down for a few days, oh well. With this package they are guaranteeing 99.9% uptime (roughly 9 hours downtime in a year)
2) Your comcast network has rules about what kind of things you can do with your network. There are no limitations on this.
3) It's WIRELESS. If you want to get on to the network from anywhere in the coverage area
Re:Fuck that. (Score:2)
Re:Awesome (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:AirInfinite has a larger deployment already (Score:2)
Re:Radiation? (Score:2)
I don't know, has all the radiation from AM, FM, CB, HAM, shortwave, etc. radio caused disease? What about over-air TV broadcast radiation?
Re:Radiation? (Score:2)
If you are one of the many people who believe all "Radiation" is inherently harmful, and GSM/WiFi/WiMAX is bad, I hate you
http://www.zone-mr.net/?act=cellrant [zone-mr.net]
Re:Tried to submit this two days ago (Score:2)
The bandwidth cost for the needle would be $6000 a month, but provide more backbone bandwidth over a larger area.
I imagine the subscription costs to hook into it will be substantially less.