Ever wanted internet that is as fast as your connection at work? With Planet Connect, the high bandwith, low latency connection that you crave can be yours. Wireless internet makes it possible to connect to the Internet with a constant high-speed two-way radio link. The system uses a system of tower sites which transmits the signal directly to each subscriber. This is particularly helpful in areas that a cable internet connection is impossible. Wireless internet can go where cable cannot! This section of our website describes this system in detail and shows where the signal is available.
Wireless technology has been around for a long time. The first radios were the early days of wireless. They were as big as TV sets are today and received signals from towers that were miles away from the receiver. In the 70 and 80’s computers and miniature electronics made a radiotelephone or cell phones a possibility. This technology allows many cell towers in a certain area to pass phone calls from one location to another. Radio technology has advanced rapidly in the past ten years and now PCS cell phones and wireless computers networks are very common and inexpensive. Planet Connect uses this technology to bring wireless high-speed Internet access to Internet users in Eastern Tennessee.
Our wireless system operates at a frequency of 2.4 Ghz. which is a microwave frequency. This frequency is used because it allows a greater amount of data to be sent in the signal. The radios can transfer data at speeds as high as 11 million bits per second. Lower frequencies such as FM radio or cell phone frequencies would restrict the speed of the connection. The microwave frequency used by the wireless Internet service requires line of site connections to work properly unless the receiving site is near the tower. For this reason Planet Connect has installed the transmitter on high points near areas that have high population density. Fortunately the mountains and hills of East Tennessee allow many places that offer this arrangement.
Internet connections and most computer communications are measured in bits per second. When someone says they have a 56K modem they are saying that the maximum speed at which the modem will operate is 56,000 bits per second. The Planet Connect Wireless system can operate at speeds up to 11,000,000 bits per second. This is normally referred to as 11 Mbits which is short for 11 megabits. This speed is much higher than phone lines can delivery and allows much faster downloads and quicker response from web site page displays. While we work to make sure each users' connection is as fast as possible, the actual bandwidth each user receives is dependant on many factors.
Each user of the system shares the bandwidth of their channel with other users, therefore the total speed and bandwidth available to each users will vary depending on the number of people downloading at the same time and the speed of the Internet at that time. This is the same technique that is used by cable modems since a central signal passes every home on the cable and each users data is mixed in with everyone’s data. Unlike the cable modems, multiple towers can be used in the same town to increase the bandwidth in each area. As the system gets crowded this technique will open additional bandwidth to keep the speed from slowing down.
At the subscribers site, an antenna is mounted in a place where it can see the local tower and a cable connected between the antenna and the radio card. The radio card is plugged into a PC computer or laptop. After the radio software is loaded your computer will communicate with the wireless system without any need for phone lines or TV cable. While the system is bi-directional, in most cases the download speed will be higher than the upload speed.
When considering a wireless system, the most important consideration is the antenna location. There must be clear line of site between the antenna and the tower. There is information on each site under the locations section of the site. The installation section will help you with the antenna mounting arrangements. Remember the antenna needs to be as near the radio card as possible to keep the signal as strong as possible.
One of our technicians can do a free site evaluation to determine whether or not we can provide wireless internet to where you are.
For more information about both our residential, and commercial wireless internet packages please click here to visit our packages page.
We do still offer dial-up internet. Click here for more information, including speed, rates, and packages regarding this service.
(c) Planet Connect 2009 | Phone: 865-397-0125 |
Fax: (865) 397-0723 | 1006 Epco Drive Dandridge, TN 37725
Our basic package includes blazing fast wireless internet with a basic installation. Contact us for a free site evaluation.
Our commercial package is an assigned bandwidth system with a non-shared connection. Call for a free site evaluation.
Standard 56k dialup connection. Billed monthly.Phone line required.
Standard 56k dialup connection. Billed quarterly.Phone line required.
Standard 56k dialup connection. Billed annually.Phone line required.