Questions Asked About Dupage Wireless Internet Access.

What is the range of the system?
From the base stations (tower sites), the basic subscriber module has a range of 3-7 miles.  We use custom antennas and dishes to increase the range to around 15 miles.  This allows us to serve all of Roselle, Carol Stream, Bloomingdale, and most other areas of Northern DuPage County (provided trees or buildings aren't in the way).

How does the system work?

The Subscriber Module (SM) is the subscriber termination unit (like a cable or DSL modem). It consists of a single transceiver that operates with a 60/120-degree antenna. SM synchronization and control is accomplished via the received Access Point (AP) signal transmitted from the base station. SM's may be located either in- or outdoors as long as they can see the base station. The Subscriber Module is connected to your computer or router via a single Cat 5 (or Ethernet) cable and powered via an AC power adaptor.

Isn't this just like Satellite ?
Not at all. Our Fixed Wireless service is faster and more responsive than satellite. Take for example Hughes satellite Internet where the maximum upload speed is only 40Kbps - this is slower than dialup! When you receive our service you get the same download and upload rate .
Also there is a big latency problem with satellite (the delay caused while your computer talks to the server). With Satellite Internet, the signal has to travel more than 46,000 miles resulting in long delays that kill games and VoIP. With our Wireless Internet system the signal only travels up to 15 miles which means that remote sites respond instantly.


What is the difference between this and DSL or cable?
Our service is up to eight times faster than 256K DSL and nearly twice as fast as most cable. DSL and cable modem upload speeds can be much slower (128-384Kbps) than the download speeds (512Kbps-4Mbps). With our service your download and upload speeds are the same. For example, if you subscribe to our Residental Plus service you get a Asymmetrical, 384/512Kbps sustained service - download and upload, with downloads bursting to between 3Mbps and 7Mbps and uploads up to 1.5Mbps. The above example is used with our Beehive Antenna extension.

What is the difference between this and 802.11 technology?
DuPage Wireless is built using the brand new Motorola Canopy™ equipment.
802.11 technology vastly under uses the available bandwidth and has trouble coping under load - the more subscribers it has, the slower the system becomes. The Dupage Wireless  Motorola Canopy system gives you the same consistent, burstable bandwidth.

802.11 based systems are somewhat obsolete.  802.11 based systems also have poorer performance as the distance between the access point and the subscriber module grows - the further you live away from the base station, the slower your access will be. DuPage Wireless delivers the same full bandwidth over our entire service area.

Where are the base stations?
We have multiple sites Roselle, and Carol Stream and several new sites coming on line soon. With Active Remotes located in 18 different spots throughout the Northern Dupage county. All sites are tied into our backbone with high-speed microwave radios.

What will interfere with the signal?
Anything in the path between you and the base station can block the signal.  Especially trees and buildings.  If you have a clear, optical, line of sight it will almost certainly work.

What is needed at the computer?
Your computer must have an Ethernet card or connection.  (Sometimes called a NIC card.)  Many computers come with this connection built into the system.
We also recommend that you have a personal firewall installed on your machine. Several are available online and some are free for personal use. We do not recommend a specific one but we strongly advise you to get one. The same goes for anti-virus software. We also strongly recommend that all Windows updates are installed on a regular basis.
DuPage Wireless does not provide a formal firewall solution, so protecting your own personal computers is your responsibility. See our checklist for other requirements.

Will this work with game boxes, Linux PC's, or Macintoshes, as well as Windows PCs?
Yes, the system is simply a wireless Ethernet system.  You do not need any special software to interface with the subscriber module.  If your computer can work with a LAN it will work with our system.

Can multiple computers use a single connection?
es, you can install any type of internet sharing systems.  We have found certain Wi-Fi home wireless systems do not work well with wireless Ethernet. We can provide you with a known workable solution for a small fee.  We do restrict sharing of activity to be contained within a single residential home or office.  If we discover that internet sharing is being used to allow other homes or businesses to have service, your service will be discontinued as outlined in the contract.

Can I install this system myself?
You can do the cable run yourself, if you like, We will fish cable through walls or attics but that is an extra cost (see our installation guide). A simple CAT 5 Ethernet cable needs to be run between the subscriber module and the computer.  Our techs generally install and align subscriber modules, reflectors, and any other required mounting hardware to ensure an accurate and stable connection.


What do I need to do to the computer?
You will have to configure your TCP/IP properties so that the computer is using the proper DHCP IP addressing, we can  provide you with Static addresses.

How can I use my current (or old) E-mail account?
The answers varies with the type of account.  If you are using web based e-mail like Hotmail.com or Yahoo, then there is no change.  You simply use your web browser and access your account as you have been.  If you have an e-mail account with a dial-up or other type of ISP, it is not so simple.  First, be assured that you can always send e-mail through Dupage Wireless.  Sending will not be a problem.  Our POP3 mail server address is mail1.dupagewireless.net  You will need an account on the server before you can use it to send.  We set up e-mail accounts 8-5 M-F.  Weekend e-mail account administration is not available.
Once you have provided us with a username and password we will set up your account and you can receive e-mail at (your user name)@Dupagewireless.net.  You will also be able to send mail using that server.  The problem occurs when you go to get your mail from you old account.  You will have to ask you old ISP to keep your mail account active for some time so that you can get your mail.  It is possible that as soon as you stop taking their service, they may restrict your access to their mail server.  They may immediately reject or discard e-mail.  Make sure there are provisions for getting your mail before you terminate your service.  Some ISPs will even automatically forward e-mail to your new address for a time.  There is nothing we can do with respect to your old account and e-mail addresses.
The only 100% rock solid way to make sure you never lose your e-mail address is to install a mail server and obtain a domain.  That requires time and expense and is somewhat a technical challenge.  If that is an option you would like to pursue, we can direct you to consultants that can make it happen.

How can I use my e-mail account when away from home?
Go to www.dupagewireless.net
This is a webmail application that will allow you to send and receive e-mail from your account.  You will need your username and password, so make sure to take those with you when traveling.

What don't you offer?
Check out this page for details of what we do not offer and what your obligation is. Also read our Service Agreement .

How long will it take to get service?
We might not be able install the system immediately.   Due to high demand, it can take around 1-2 weeks from signing up to be installed. Once we determine you are in our coverage area, a technician will contact you to make an appointment. Installs performed during the week are usually done within 2 hours. Weekend installs may be done in two phases: cable-run and reflector installation (if necessary) are done on the first day, with radio and computer configuration done later.

Why don't you offer a Service Level Agreement or other assurance of service?
We offer live 24/7/365 technical support.   All of our employees are on this system at home and we monitor it constantly.  If the system is down, we are down too.  So, we have a vested interest in keeping things ticking smoothly.  System wide troubles are detected and resolved in what we believe to be a timely manner.  However, some things are out of our control. If a backhoe digs up one of our fiber cables, or a car takes down a telephone pole the system could be down (although we are redundant to our other towers).  And it could be down until the fiber cable is spliced or our routers reroute your traffic. We cannot control those types of failures.  We do have automatic rerouting of traffic throughout our system, but we cannot guarantee 100% uptime.  We only guarantee that we will give you the best service possible.

Do you have a newsgroup server?
No we do not, nor are news (NNTP) servers allowed on the network. There are plenty of free news services available, including Google's Newsgroups.

What download speed will I get?
First, you must understand the difference in ways of showing speed.  Big B vs. little b; Big K vs. little k:
Big B = bytes
Little b  = bits
There are 8 bits per byte.
Big K = 1024 bytes
Little k = 1000 bytes
Not too much difference but it is there.
Our basic plan speed is 384/512Kbps.  This is the same as downloading at 64 KBps (8 x 64KBps = 512 Kbps).
So, $39.95/month gives you a 64KBps (512Kbps) connection with a burst speed up to 5 to 9Mbps.
If you begin to download a file, it will initially download up to the 14 Mbps burst speed.  After about 5 MB of downloading, you download speed will be shifted down for the speed which you pay for.
For example, if you are subscribed to our 512Kbps service, you could start to download at about 600KBps to 800KBps. 
After downloading 5 MB of a file you will see the download speed shift down to about 64KBps, or 512Kbps - the speed to which you are subscribed. After you stop the download, the system will reset and you will be allowed the higher burst speed again after a few minutes.  However, if you continue to download or stream large quantities of data, the system will continue to shift you down to the speed you pay for.
If you subscribe to a higher price plan (e.g. 768Kbps), not only will the download progress at a much higher speed, it will not shift down to the speed to which you are subscribed until you download 10MB.  So, really you get much more performance for only $20 more per month.

Call 630 973 6087 for more info.