Wifi Internet Proposal
The primary goal of this project is to provide the Dallas Makerspace with an Internet connection of at least 20Mbps. There is a datacenter 4.3 miles south of the space that has agreed to let us place networking gear on their roof for this project.
Secondary goals are:
- Increased throughput: 100Mbps would be preferred, up to 1Gbps may be possible with some designs.
- Decreased latency: Latency should be as low as possible, our current connection is 50-100ms to servers hosted in the Dallas area.
- Resiliency to power failure
We currently have a 1.54mbit down and 512kbit AT&T DSL connection that has very bad latency and jitter.

As you can plainly see the DSL connection is very poor. This is exacerbated by the security cameras installed at DMS.
Locations
Section titled “Locations”- Location of DMS
- Location of datacenter
Connectivity at the datacenter will likely be a 100 Mbps ethernet drop, with a handful of public IPs available for our use.
How Can I Help?
Section titled “How Can I Help?”If we could get temporary access to two mobile/crank-up/push-up masts that would allow us to test if direct line of sight is available. Please contact Andrew LeCody for more info.
Options
Section titled “Options”Option 1
Section titled “Option 1”Initial Investment Costs
Section titled “Initial Investment Costs”- Install a 50 foot mast on DMS roof
- Install a 50 foot mast on ADC roof
- Purchase masts
- Purchase Wifi equipment
Monthly costs
Section titled “Monthly costs”- Lease tower space - About $700/mo
- Location of Tower
- http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/AsrSearch/asrRegistration.jsp?regKey=108002
- American Tower
- http://www.americantower.com/atcweb
- 877-ATC-SITE / 877-282-7483
- Office
- South Plains
- Stacey Noland, Area VP
- 8505 Freeport Parkway, Suite 135
- Irving, TX 75063
- customer.relations@americantower.com
Option 2
Section titled “Option 2”Initial Investment Costs
Section titled “Initial Investment Costs”- Install a 50 foot mast on DMS roof
- Install a 50 foot mast on ADC roof
- Purchase masts
- Purchase Wifi equipment
Monthly costs
Section titled “Monthly costs”- Lease tower space - $?
Option 3
Section titled “Option 3”Initial Investment Costs
Section titled “Initial Investment Costs”- Install a 50 foot mast on DMS roof
- Install a 50 foot mast on ADC roof
- Purchase masts
- Purchase Wifi equipment
Monthly costs
Section titled “Monthly costs”- Lease rooftop space - $?
Building
Section titled “Building”- Location of building
- Jamison Services, Inc.
- General Inquiries: info@jamisonservices.com
- Acquisitions/Leasing Department: leasing@jamisonservices.com
Useful Links And Information
Section titled “Useful Links And Information”- FCC Antenna Structure Registration Info
- FCC Antenna Calculator - for determining if an antenna needs to be registered.
- EarthTools - Useful for determining Site Elevation (AMSL)
- GPS Coordinate Converter - To convert between GPS formats
Hardware
Section titled “Hardware”MikroTik SEXTANT
Section titled “MikroTik SEXTANT”- http://routerboard.com/RBSEXTANT5HnD
- 18dB gain
- Up to 100Mbps
- About $110
MikroTik SXT G-5HnD
Section titled “MikroTik SXT G-5HnD”- http://routerboard.com/RBSXTG-5HnD
- 16dB gain
- Up to 300Mbps
- About $100
Migrated from the legacy DMS wiki: original page