Installing Wifi Across A Condo Block

[briley]

I'm trying to look into installing a WiFi Internet access point in our condo block to be able to re-sell Internet access to the owners/tenant's.

However I haven't got a clue as to where to look!

I know it can be done as my WiFi picks up a nearby hot spot that asks for a password etc.

Anyone with any suggestions as to who to provide the connection (would need to be reasonably fast), how to do it, what it would cost, where to get information Etc Etc?

[pumper]

with demand the way it is & condo wifi so expensive I've wondered the same

& usage being individual & not constant means that the average high speed line is mostly inactive for much of a day.

several standard high speed connections w/ a commercial routing interface.

IMHO: limit usage to "x" / megabits / hours per day ..

there are people who would stream video all day just because they could .. which would drive up the cost (more lines / bandwidth required) for all.

in a cooperating group it could be wonderful .. but often it is difficult to get selfish folks to cooperate

[waldwolf]

briley - There is a company (Thai-US ownership) in BKK who specialize in broadband internet setups for companies, stores, schools, and condos.

JCMR Co. Ltd.

4th Floor Room 403

57-57/1 Wireless Road

Lumpini, Pathumwan Bangkok, 10330,

Tele: 66-2-254-6080

Fax: 66-2-650-7701

Website: www.thai-fi.com/

A quick phone call may help answer some of your questions.

waldwolf

(PS- I have no financial or business relation with this company, nor have I ever used their services.)

[ProThaiExpat]

Not too knowledgeable about this area but did access my son-in-laws LAN/wifi/wireless connection in Australia and he used a wireless router and I just logged into it from an adjoining apartment. I was also able to log onto other similar LANs of unknown people who had not secured them to limited users by password.

This afternoon, my TOT (bribed) technician is setting up a wireless system for my home. I believe it only requires a wireless router, he quoted around 2500 baht.

I do recall my son-in-law having a couple of pieces of equipment, not just the router, so time will tell what it will take in my home.

Is there a difference between wifi as installed in Starbucks for instance and a home wireless LAN system????

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Not too knowledgeable about this area but did access my son-in-laws LAN/wifi/wireless connection in Australia and he used a wireless router and I just logged into it from an adjoining apartment. I was also able to log onto other similar LANs of unknown people who had not secured them to limited users by password.

This afternoon, my TOT (bribed) technician is setting up a wireless system for my home. I believe it only requires a wireless router, he quoted around 2500 baht.

I do recall my son-in-law having a couple of pieces of equipment, not just the router, so time will tell what it will take in my home.

Is there a difference between wifi as installed in Starbucks for instance and a home wireless LAN system????

get TRUE cable which a lot of Internet Cafes use and then buy your WIFI gear. With all the thick concrete in Thai buildings you might need more access points to provide good service. Just set up security on the WIFI routers you use. If you don't set security then anybody will be able to surf them.

With the poor bandwidth of home packages like TOT and TTT then it will not support many users before its totally saturated and slow like a dog. Thats why I say go with True cable internet cafe type package. I think they start about 5,000 baht a month and go up based on how many users and bandwidth you want.

The more users and bandwidth your serving up then you will need higher quality WIFI routing equipment with processers fast enough not to be a bottleneck.

[briley]

I did get a feeling that True was the only option.

I do like a local hot spot near me where the router is open but you land on a page that requests your password and username - means there is some software running that can ensure only one person is using the password. From what I know of routers many people can log on using the same password.

In addition I'm hoping that the software can control the usage of the internet and maintain statistics, so the bandwidth is evenly shared.

JCMR's website has some interesting information.

Thanks to all for information.

I'm thinking of one wireless access point on each floor conected to a good, (high memory) computer.

[mosquitoman]

I'm thinking of one wireless access point on each floor conected to a good, (high memory) computer.

Why do you need to connect each access point to a high memory computer, not sure I understand what you mean.

MM

[monty]

If you're handy enough to fiddle a bit with computers, this can be done easily and free.

Check out http://www.publicip.net/

Basically you put a PC between all your wifi points and your internet access.

This pc runs of the zonecd, a live CD with linux and the publicIP software on.

This pc can be an old leftover, minimum requirements are pentium or AMD processor of 500 Mhz upwards, with a CDrom, a floppy drive (or alternatively you can use a USB thumbdrive) and 128 ore more Mb ram (256 recomended).

And of course two LAN cards, one connected to your internet and the other feeding the network on which your accesspoints are...

No hard drive is needed!

In short, you register an account with PublicIP (free!), they have a pretty clear web interface, where you can set up your hotspot. You can create user accounts, and put each user in one of four usergroups. Each usergroup is configurable, i.e. you can decide how much speed they will get (up and down), how much they are allowed to download in a 24 hour block, which ports to open or to block etc...

All this userdata is stored on the PublicIP servers in America.

When somebody wants to access the internet, they will get redirected to a page asking for username and password. When they give this, the PC running the Zonecd will verify their credentials against the PublicIP database (which you have set up), and according to what you decided to give that user (download speed/upload speed, download quata etc.) the servers in America will tell your PC running zoneCD to give what that particular user is entitled to!

As all is stored on the servers in America, you can have access to your hotspot database wherever you have a PC with internet access. You can update your user accounts, check who is on-line, who downloaded how much etc...

[nikster]

If you're handy enough to fiddle a bit with computers, this can be done easily and free.

Check out http://www.publicip.net/

Basically you put a PC between all your wifi points and your internet access.

This pc runs of the zonecd, a live CD with linux and the publicIP software on.

This pc can be an old leftover, minimum requirements are pentium or AMD processor of 500 Mhz upwards, with a CDrom, a floppy drive (or alternatively you can use a USB thumbdrive) and 128 ore more Mb ram (256 recomended).

And of course two LAN cards, one connected to your internet and the other feeding the network on which your accesspoints are...

No hard drive is needed!

In short, you register an account with PublicIP (free!), they have a pretty clear web interface, where you can set up your hotspot. You can create user accounts, and put each user in one of four usergroups. Each usergroup is configurable, i.e. you can decide how much speed they will get (up and down), how much they are allowed to download in a 24 hour block, which ports to open or to block etc...

All this userdata is stored on the PublicIP servers in America.

When somebody wants to access the internet, they will get redirected to a page asking for username and password. When they give this, the PC running the Zonecd will verify their credentials against the PublicIP database (which you have set up), and according to what you decided to give that user (download speed/upload speed, download quata etc.) the servers in America will tell your PC running zoneCD to give what that particular user is entitled to!

As all is stored on the servers in America, you can have access to your hotspot database wherever you have a PC with internet access. You can update your user accounts, check who is on-line, who downloaded how much etc...

Sounds like an excellent solution. I have the feeling that most companies that set this kind of stuff up overcharge like crazy.

You could also place a single WiFi router with an external 10dbi Antenna in the middle of the apartment block and provide it to tenants for free or very cheap. Costs 1000Bht/month + 6000 baht in equipment.

But if you want to resell it and control access etc, montys solution looks great.

If you set up multiple access points along an ethernet cable, make sure they all are on different channels so they don't interfere with each other. How many you need depends on the size of the total area and the thickness of the walls. It takes experimentation to do it right. Or you can do what I have seen recently in a high end resort where they just plastered the place with access points, one every few meters. Must have cost them a fortune

PS: Another home made solution would be to use DD-WRT on a Linksys 54WRT router. I would generally recommend Linksys for low end installationns. I have a 5 AP setup with DLink routers and while the hardware is excellent, the setup software is a major pain in the asre.

Edited April 30, 2007 by nikster

[briley]

This project looks like it might fly, and even produce a small profit for the management whilst reducing costs for owners and tenants.

Thanks for the advice - lots to look at.

[Rice_King]

More reading on the subject of setting up a wi-fi hotspot from a prior thread a few weeks back.

[Guest RealEstateBroker]

I'm trying to look into installing a WiFi Internet access point in our condo block to be able to re-sell Internet access to the owners/tenant's.

However I haven't got a clue as to where to look!

I know it can be done as my WiFi picks up a nearby hot spot that asks for a password etc.

Anyone with any suggestions as to who to provide the connection (would need to be reasonably fast), how to do it, what it would cost, where to get information Etc Etc?

briley,

who is your target market ? I "rep" a product that will do EXACTLY what you are looking

for if your potential customer has any type of visa or mastercard to pay with when they

see your home page on a laptop with wifi built in. Also, you will need a booster antenna

from your router to hit anyone more than 400-500 feet, a omni directional antenna will

extend the range to a few thousand feet if you have a clear view of your condo block.

PM me with your mobile number, I am currently in the states but arrive in BKK on May 4

and will be happy to discuss this with you. I live in BKK and Korat.

One more thing, you need your own ADSL connection to use this, you will not be able to

pick up a wifi signal from someone else and then sell it....and one more thing...even with

your own ADSL account your provider usually will not allow you to resell.

Anyway, call me. It is possible.

[kitsada]

I'm trying to look into installing a WiFi Internet access point in our condo block to be able to re-sell Internet access to the owners/tenant's.

However I haven't got a clue as to where to look!

I know it can be done as my WiFi picks up a nearby hot spot that asks for a password etc.

Anyone with any suggestions as to who to provide the connection (would need to be reasonably fast), how to do it, what it would cost, where to get information Etc Etc?

briley,

who is your target market ? I "rep" a product that will do EXACTLY what you are looking

for if your potential customer has any type of visa or mastercard to pay with when they

see your home page on a laptop with wifi built in. Also, you will need a booster antenna

from your router to hit anyone more than 400-500 feet, a omni directional antenna will

extend the range to a few thousand feet if you have a clear view of your condo block.

PM me with your mobile number, I am currently in the states but arrive in BKK on May 4

and will be happy to discuss this with you. I live in BKK and Korat.

One more thing, you need your own ADSL connection to use this, you will not be able to

pick up a wifi signal from someone else and then sell it....and one more thing...even with

your own ADSL account your provider usually will not allow you to resell.

Anyway, call me. It is possible.

You can check at www.bangkokwireless.net for external antenna