2pifi Aggregates over 700 WISPs… but What is a WISP?

WISP stands for wireless internet service provider. WISPs are typically small businesses who cover a handful of counties with internet service via fixed wireless technology. There is a lot of variation among WISPs in terms of size, focus, and sophistication but in general, they provide an excellent connectivity solution for areas where fiber is unavailable or there is a diversity requirement.

What is Fixed Wireless?

Typical configurations are a single antenna on a tower serving multiple clients, called point-to-multi-point (this is how 2pifi delivers broadband circuits) or a single antenna serving a single client, called point-to-point (this is how 2pifi delivers DIA and transport/ethernet/layer 2 circuits).

What does an install look like?

There is an antenna on the roof that is powered via power-over-ethernet (PoE) with a single ethernet cable run inside via an existing roof penetration to the customer's network room. Most commonly, the antenna is installed on a non-penetrating roof mount that is weighed down with cinder blocks with a protective rubber mat between it and the roof.

Does weather affect fixed wireless?

Yes but proper engineering and equipment assure performance according to SLA specs. Our engineers take into account regional weather patterns like rainfall, ice, wind, etc. and build in enough fade-margin to meet the specifications on an order. 

Data caps? No.

No, not for fixed wireless. - 2pifi has another less-used product called Fixed Cellular that uses cell networks to fill in coverage gaps in certain situations. This service is "unlimited" but is beholden to the policies of the carrier whose network it runs on. We can discuss the capabilities and limitations of this product if you have a use case for it.

Fixed Wireless compared to Satellite

Fixed wireless broadband will perform comparably to a cable modem; fixed wireless DIA and transport/ethernet/layer 2 will perform comparably to dedicated fiber. - Latency and packet loss will be markedly lower than satellite.