Q. Is this service the same as satellite internet?
A.No. Our service is called "Wireless High-Speed Internet Access" or "Fixed Wireless Internet Access" delivered via a network of sophisticated broadcasting equipment - owned and maintained by Internet America - mounted on towers throughout our respective service areas. Customers access our network using equipment installed on their home or building by a fully-trained technician. Unlike satellite, our service does not suffer the lag or latency that satellite does which means that you receive a far more steady, consistent signal. Also, our service is not as susceptible to inclement weather conditions as satellite. Cloud coverage, normal rain and high winds do not affect our service as it does satellite. Of course, severe weather capable of affecting other utilities such as electricity will adversely affect our service as well. To this end, we are able to deploy highly-trained technical and engineering teams on a 24-hour basis to insure maximum availability of all major network infrastructure.
Q. What about network security and stability?
A. Our high-speed wireless internet service is built around technology developed by a leading global wireless hardware company. This proprietary hardware provides end-to-end security from your home to our network utilizing industry proven authentication and encryption technologies to insure the safety and security of your internet connection.
Our network engineers work around the clock to proactively address issues of infrastructure reliability, stability, and security. They are on-call on a 24-hour basis to insure maximum network availability. If you?d like more information regarding the security of our high-speed wireless platform, a published whitepaper is available for
download.
Q. What up speeds can I expect?
A. You can expect any where from 254 kbps plus or minus 15%. Speeds vary depending on such circumstances as geography, atmospheric conditions or volume of traffic on the system.
Q. What does the installation process entail?
A. The $50.00 site assessment (non refundable) and $249.00 installation fees covers the following procedure:
Our installer places a radio and, if necessary, an antenna (much like that used in a satellite installation) on the eve or roof of the home or building using a J-mount or pole up to 10 feet in height, attached with a wall or gable mount.
An exterior-grade Cat5 network cable (100 feet maximum) is then run down the exterior wall of the home or building.
A hole is drilled through the wall and the cable run into the home or building terminating with a wall jack.
From the wall jack a second Cat5 network cable is then plugged into a wired, high-speed router that we provide.
Any additional equipment and/or cost needed to establish service (e.g., telescopic pole, custom mounting brackets, hardware or any equipment not mentioned above) is reviewed with the customer by the installer at the time of the initial installation to be billed separately by the contracted installer.
Q. Can I provide my own Wireless Broadband router?
A. A customer may purchase a wireless broadband router (available at Best Buy, Circuit City, Office Depot, Comp USA, etc.) to share your Wireless High-Speed Internet connection with other computers throughout your home. To this end, we suggest purchasing your wireless router prior to your installation. While we do not recommend one brand over another, we recommend that you do not open any product(s) that you purchase and save your receipt in the event your wireless router cannot be successfully configured and installed by our installer. Please note that we do not insure the security level of your service once a wireless router is in place. It is the customer's responsibility to configure the wireless security settings for their device. Please further note that it is the customer's responsibility to insure that each computer sharing your Wireless High-Speed Internet connection meet our minimum system requirements discussed in a subsequent question in this FAQ. Prior to completing your installation, our installer will configure your wireless router with our network parameters to insure proper operation on our network.
Q. What if I do not have network cards in my computers?
A. Our installers are not authorized to perform work or repairs on customer-owned computers during the installation service call. It is the customer's responsibility to insure that each computer have a properly installed and functional NIC (network interface card) at the time of installation in addition to the following minimum system requirements:
PC
Windows 2000 or greater
Spare ethernet/network port or broadband networking capabilities.
MAC
Mac OS X
Spare ethernet/network port or broadband networking capabilities.
Q. Do you have a trial period for your service?
A. No, we do not have any trial periods on our service. However other than the survey fee, you are not charged nor are you under any obligation until after your installation is completed. Before your service is installed, our installers will run a series of different signal strength tests and other quality tests to ensure that you are able to receive an excellent, strong signal. If you are not able to receive an excellent, strong signal, then the installation is not performed and you are only charged the initial survey fee.
Q. How many e-mail addresses does this account come with and what is the storage size?
A. Your account comes with 5 e-mail address, each with a maximum storage capacity of 200 MBs.
Q. I am already an Internet America Dial-up customer can I keep this account and my e-mail address?
A. Yes you can after your installation is complete this dial-up account with be attached to your wireless account and you will not lose your e-mail address.
Q. Can I connect to my company's VPN with your service?
A. Our service does allow VPN connectivity.
Q. Can I use VOIP services (like Vonage) with your service?
A. We do not guarantee nor support 3rd party services like VOIP, but some of our customers have been successful in using VOIP applications like Vonage on our service.
Q. Do I receive a Static or Dynamic IP address?
A. The wired router provided by us or your wireless router configured by us will obtain its IP address by DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), a protocol for assigning dynamic IP addresses to devices on a network. With dynamic addressing, a device can have a different IP address every time it connects to the network. DHCP also supports a mix of static and dynamic IP addresses.
Our DHCP server is configured to hand you the same IP address each time your router connects to our service; however, we reserve the right to change our IP scheme at anytime. While we do not foresee having to do this often, there are technical considerations affecting our network that make this unavoidable.
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