Cellular shouldn't be a problem. The technology was developed by the
military and modulates between a narrow group of frequencies.
>2. Is this mode more susceptible to eavesdropping and more of a data
>security risk (for administrative processing) than fiber?
Yes it open to the environment and therefore someone with the right
equipment could eavesdrop on the traffic. If someone really wanted to
listen in on fiber, they could do that too it would only be a little more
difficult. The other issue with this technology is the fact that you have
the possiblility of weather effecting the communications. A good
thunderstorm could mess things up on wireless.
>3. Are there costs to be incurred at each location that are significantly
>different from those with fiber?
The costs are significantly less than fiber. The bandwidth is not as good,
but comperable to T1 speeds (between .8 mbs and 1.8 mbs) It also saves money
compared to leased lines.
>I realize that there is a growing development of wireless communications
>but I am not sure what the issues are or should be. I'm not sure just what
>questions should be raised! Any comments, questions, experineces would be
>greatly appreciated.
Other issues to be dealt with are that it works with perceived line of
sight, which means that you can't go over a hill that blocks visual contact
between locations without placing an antenna on that hill to act as a
repeater. Tall buildings can also block transmission. A school district in
the Kansas City, Missouri are has done some work with wireless. I think it
was Independence, Mo, but I'm not certain.
In our situation, we appreciate the non-recurring nature of the installation
costs and that we will have good communications between locations. We will
also be running Internet traffic over the wireless WAN and anticipate
occational band-width bottlenecks, but we can accept that.
I will have more information in the next few weeks as we get our installion
going. I'll be glad to share our story with you if you are interested.
Bob Midland
Robert D. Midland
Technology Coordinator
Beatrice Public Schools
213 North Fifth St.
Beatrice, NE 68310
tel: 402-223-1500
fax: 402-223-1509
eml: rmidland@esu6.esu6.k12.ne.us