| General Questions |
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Q. |
Do I need a phone line to utilize the service? |
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A. |
No phone line is required for Sierra Advantage Wireless service;
the connection from the neighborhood relay point to your location is wireless. |
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Q. |
What plans do you offer? |
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A. |
Visit our Service Plans page to see our
current service plans. |
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Q. |
Will I be able to keep my old dial up account? |
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A. |
Yes, dialup accounts can coexist with Sierra Advantage Wireless
service, but both services cannot be simultaneously used to connect to the
Internet. |
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Q. |
I have a Web site through which I conduct business, can I keep it? |
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A. |
Absolutely. Using our service does not affect your own personal
domain. You can also have your domain email set up to forward into your Sierra
Advantage email. |
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Q. |
How can I become a repeater site? |
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A. |
Repeater sites are chosen by geographic location for optimal
serviceability and not by who wants to be one. We do first consider those on our
waiting list, so be sure to submit your information to our sign-up page. Whichever
location will best serve the network is the one chosen to be a repeater site. |
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Q. |
My neighborhood has regulations about putting antennas on my roof.
How do I get their permission? |
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A. |
You don't need their permission. Such restrictions have been deemed
illegal through numerous FCC rulings, and since 2001 residents are essentially free
to do what they please with regard to receiving wireless data services. This allows
Sierra Advantage to install its equipment regardless of CC&Rs that may cover a
neighborhood. Following are some history and details of the various FCC Federal
Laws pertaining to the installation of fixed wireless devices:
As directed by Congress in Section 207 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996,
with amendment 00-366 the Federal Communications Commission adopted the Over-the-Air
Reception Devices Rule concerning governmental and nongovernmental restrictions on
viewers' ability to receive video programming signals from direct broadcast
satellites ("DBS"), multichannel multipoint distribution (wireless cable) providers
("MMDS"), and television broadcast stations ("TVBS").
Effective January 22, 1999, the Commission amended the rule so that it also
applies to rental property where the renter has an exclusive use area, such as a
balcony or patio. This amendment states that community associations, such as
homeowners associations, do not have the authority to regulate the installation of
wireless devices on a private residence.
On October 25, 2000, the Commission further amended the rule so that it
applies to customer-end antennas that receive and transmit fixed wireless signals.
This amendment became effective on May 25, 2001. (FCC 00-366) Antennas covered by
this rule must be one meter or less in diameter or diagonal measurement and be
designed to receive video programming services via MMDS (wireless cable) or to
receive or transmit fixed wireless signals other than via satellite. Antennas
designed to receive and/or transmit data services, including Internet access, are
included in the rule. In addition, antennas covered by the rule may be mounted on
"masts" to reach the height needed to receive or transmit an acceptable quality
signal (e.g. maintain line-of-sight contact with the transmitter or view the
satellite). Masts higher than 12 feet above the roofline may be subject to local
permitting requirements for safety purposes. Further, masts that extend beyond an
exclusive use area may not be covered by this rule.
"Fixed wireless signals" are any commercial non-broadcast communications
signals transmitted via wireless technology to and/or from a fixed customer location.
Examples include wireless signals used to provide telephone service or high-speed
Internet access to a fixed location. This definition does not include, among other
things, AM/FM radio, amateur ("HAM") radio, Citizens Band ("CB") radio, and Digital
Audio Radio Services ("DARS") signals.
The rule prohibits restrictions that impair a person's ability to install,
maintain, or use an antenna covered by the rule. The rule applies to state or local
laws or regulations, including zoning, land-use or building regulations, private
covenants, homeowners' association rules, condominium or cooperative association
restrictions, lease restrictions, or similar restrictions on property within the
exclusive use or control of the antenna user where the user has an ownership or
leasehold interest in the property. Nothing in the rule excludes antennas
installed on commercial property. The rule applies to property used for commercial
purposes in the same way it applies to residential property. |
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Q. |
Will I be allowed to install an antenna on the roof of my apartment
or condominium building? |
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A. |
Common areas such as tenant building roof space are not included
in the FCC laws discussed in the prior answer. Therefore building management
approval is needed for roof access. In some cases, it will be approved for tenants.
However, in many cases management agreements are made with Wireless service
providers like Sierra Advantage to service the entire building. If you live in an
apartment or condominium complex, and are interested in receiving our high-speed
Wireless Internet service, please contact your facility's management and let them
know of your desire, and then contact us and let us know about your situation and
how we can get in touch with them. |
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Q. |
What exactly is fixed wireless broadband? |
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A. |
Fixed Wireless Broadband is a system that uses mostly microwave
radio gear to transmit data. The basic technology is over 50 years old, but over
the last several years it has been refined for high-bandwidth data communications
applications. "Fixed" means a permanently mounted antenna is required. "Wireless"
means what it implies - no wires - the connection between the subscriber and
provider's network occurs through the air. "Broadband" means the data is
transferred at speeds of at least 256 Kbps (Kilobits per second) in both
directions. |
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Q. |
Is your wireless service similar to satellite-based Internet
services? |
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A. |
Not even close. Compared to satellite Internet, fixed wireless
is much faster and more reliable due to its inherent design. Because of the great
distances to geosynchronous Earth satellites, data communications through them
suffers from a condition termed "latency" (delay) which results in poor web browsing
performance. In contrast, our terrestrial (land-based) fixed wireless network
communicates through distances of only a few miles over roof-top based repeater sites
in a local region. With satellite systems, you may have acceptable download speeds,
but you are severely limited in upload speed capability because your Internet
satellite dish has insufficient transmitting power. In contrast, our system has
the capability to match upload and download speeds, if you desire or need that
type of performance. With most satellite systems, high download performance is
achieved through compression of the data, so that more data can be sent in less
space. The true data rate may be only one-fifth the effective (observed) data
rate. For most uses, this is not an important consideration, but there are some
applications, like virtual private networks (VPNs) that must operate without
compression - and thus their performance suffers. In contrast with this condition,
fixed wireless functions without compression - the speed you pay for and observe
is the true data rate of the system, thus there are no performance implications
for virtual private networks or other similar applications. Lastly, satellite
systems all employ much higher radio frequencies than terrestrial fixed wireless
systems do. These higher frequencies are extremely susceptible to atmospheric
moisture and thus impede satellite communications when weather conditions are
poor - such as during thunderstorms, snowstorms, or heavy rain. In contrast,
the comparatively lower frequencies of terrestrial wireless systems are
impervious to such conditions. |
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Q. |
How does Sierra Advantage Wireless compare to 3G cell phone
networks such as EV-DO? |
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A. |
Sierra Advantage Wireless is faster and more reliable. While
laboratory tests of EV-DO reach speeds of up to 2.4 Mbps download and 800 Kbps
upload, real-world performance is more in the range of 400 Kbps download and
144 Kbps upload. This is due to the many uncontrollable environmental factors
and usage patterns in the real world. Furthermore, speeds are dependent upon
distance from the cell tower - the further away you are, the lower the performance.
In contrast, with the Sierra Advantage Wireless system, the speed you pay for is
the speed you get - the system is over-engineered to ensure performance. Your
speed is limited by our billing server which we control, not by environmental
factors that no one can control, or by how many other people happen to be using
the same frequency simultaneously with you. Also, systems like cellular data
communications have inherent limitations on reliability due to the technical
tradeoffs that must be made to enable mobility. In contrast, our system is
engineered for maximum reliability through the use of multiple redundant
transmission paths. |
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| Availability |
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Q. |
How do I get Sierra Advantage Wireless? |
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A. |
Either call Sierra Advantage or check
online to see if service is available in your area yet. You can then
schedule an appointment for an on-site qualification check. If you qualify, we
may immediately install an antenna on your house or we may schedule a follow-up
date for the installation and computer setup so that you will be able to access
the Internet. |
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Q. |
I live in an apartment/condominium - not a single family
residence - how do I get your service? |
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A. |
Since we need to mount equipment outdoors, we must get permission
and cooperation from the apartment owner or condominium association. Please let
them know that you have an interest, and try to get as many as possible of your
neighbors to do so also - the more of your who petition your apartment management
or condo association, the more likely they will want to work with us to get the
service to you and your neighbors. |
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Q. |
How do I know if I qualify for your wireless Internet service? |
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A. |
Sierra Advantage will perform a site survey to determine the
suitability of your location for receiving our broadband wireless service. |
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Q. |
Why is your service not available in my area? |
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A. |
The Sierra Advantage Wireless Internet service is a highly
localized system. In order to enable the high performance solution we offer, it
is necessary to use technology that limits the range from a repeater site to
approximately one mile. Anyone beyond a mile or so from one of our repeaters
can't get the service. And sometimes, even when you are within range, it's still
not available due to topographic or other obstructions. The most common barrier
other than hills or ridges is dense forestation. |
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Q. |
What can I do if service is not available in my area? |
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A. |
If our service isn't currently available in your area, please
submit your information on our sign-up page
and ask to be put on our waiting list. Sierra Advantage does network build-out
based upon demand, so get your neighbors to contact us too. If we are not
aware of interest in a particular area we may not know to focus on bringing our
services there. |
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| Installation |
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Q. |
Do you offer in-home installation? |
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A. |
Yes, it is part of our service. Our set up fees cover this
process, unless extraordinary installation methods have to be used. See our Service Plans page for
details. |
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Q. |
How does an installation work? |
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A. |
An 8" x 8.5" antenna is mounted on the roof, eaves or chimney.
A CAT5 (Ethernet) cable is run on the exterior of the house. A small 3/8" hole
is drilled from the inside to the outside of the house for the cable to run
through. The cable is then hooked up to the customer's computer. The customer
is instructed on how to use the connection and payment is collected before the
installer leaves. |
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Q. |
What are the system requirements for Sierra Advantage? |
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A. |
Any computer system that supports high-speed data connections
can access the Sierra Advantage Wireless network. Your system will need an Ethernet
port, a Wi-Fi adaptor or any other type of high-speed data port. |
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Q. |
How do I know if I have an Ethernet port? |
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A. |
Look on the back of your CPU. There will be a jack, shaped like
a phone plug-in, but it will be a bit wider than an ordinary phone jack. |
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Q. |
Can I use my own router/hub/switch to split the Sierra Advantage
connection? |
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A. |
Yes, any router/hub/switch will work with our system. Please
call Sierra Advantage support for router settings. |
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Q. |
Can I set up a wireless network at home (or in my office)? |
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A. |
Yes, it is possible to have wireless connectivity at your home
or office, but specific equipment is required. We recommend that you consult
our technical support staff before buying any wireless equipment. |
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Q. |
I would like my computers put onto an internal network. Can you
do that for me? |
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A. |
We will install networks at additional cost. With our Commercial
Property Owners program, this is included with the package. |
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Q. |
I have a network in place. How will that affect the installation? |
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A. |
It depends on what sort of network you have and how compatible it
is with our system. Most likely it will not be an issue - we will simply terminate
our connection to the central switch/router/hub that serves your network. |
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Q. |
Is there a fee if I need to cancel/reschedule my scheduled
installation? |
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A. |
There is no cancellation fee if you notify us 24 hours before
your scheduled installation. Please call and let us know, or if you are calling
outside of normal business hours please leave a voicemail message. If you fail
to provide us with 24 hours notice, a $25.00 rescheduling fee will be charged
to your Credit Card or you will be invoiced if you have selected to pay by Check. |
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| Getting Started |
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Q. |
How do I set up my account? |
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A. |
We will set you up in your home after we complete the installation.
Alternatively, you may call our tech support staff at a later time for assistance. |
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Q. |
How many e-mail accounts are included? |
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A. |
It depends on which service you sign up for. See our Service Plans page
for details. |
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Q. |
What equipment do I need to get started? |
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A. |
We supply all the necessary equipment to enable one direct-wired
computer connection. If you wish to enable multiple computers or other
Internet-capable devices to attach to the Sierra Advantage Wireless service or set
up a local wireless network within your home, you will need to purchase an
appropriate hub, router, or switch. Our support and installation staff can
offer free guidance as to what type of device is most suitable for your needs,
but if you would like us to install it, there will be an extra charge. |
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| Technical Support |
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Q. |
When is tech support available to me? |
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A. |
The hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 7:00 pm and
weekends 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. |
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Q. |
What types of issues do you support? |
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A. |
Our support responsibility is to ensure that the services
you've contracted for from us are functioning correctly. We also offer minor
computer repair and virus/spyware cleanup services. But if you need to address
more complex problems, please contact our support staff for referrals to a
number of companies who specialize in PC repair and whom we highly recommend. |
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Q. |
Which Operating Systems do you support? |
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A. |
We support Windows 95 / 98 / 2000 / NT / XP / ME, as well
as Macintosh OSX 10.1 and higher. It is possible to connect other operating
systems and game consoles to the Sierra Advantage Wireless service; however, we
do not provide support for these operating systems. |
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Q. |
I have your Wireless service now. Why are some Web sites
still slow? |
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A. |
Sierra Advantage cannot control Web sites on the Internet or
the route to get to the Web server. Sometimes the server for a Web site can
become overloaded; also sometimes routes to a Web site through the Internet
become congested. Each of these conditions can result in poor performance. |
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| Billing |
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Q. |
How often is my account charged? |
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A. |
Your account will be charged after your service is installed.
Your initial bill is prorated to the first of the following month, and then
you will be billed on the first of every month thereafter. Credit Card customers
will have this automatically done. |
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Q. |
Why do you charge a set-up fee? |
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A. |
The equipment is very expensive and because it must be
mounted outside your house it requires specialized professional installation
skills. |
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Q. |
My account is past due. Will you reinstate it? |
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A. |
No. We cannot reinstate your account until it is current and
we have correct billing information. |
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Q. |
If I cancel, do I get my money back? |
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A. |
If you cancel within thirty days, we will
refund all prepaid service fees, but not the installation charge. After
thirty days, there are no refunds. |
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| Network |
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Q. |
Is the connection to the Internet secure? |
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A. |
Yes. Sierra Advantage uses 3DES 168-bit encryption software for
security. Our customer interface devices also contain a built-in firewall to
prevent intrusion into your computers. |
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Q. |
Do you block outgoing connections on port 25? |
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A. |
We have a dynamic relaying system. If a user is able to login
via pop3, then the IP address they are connected to is allowed to relay up for
up to one hour. |
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Q. |
Do you run my e-mail through a virus scanner? |
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A. |
Yes, a commercial virus scanner is used for all incoming e-mail.
The virus identity files are continually updated automatically to ensure the
most up to date viruses are caught. Please note that many ISP's charge extra
for this service while we do this for you at no extra cost. |
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Q. |
Do you block 'spam' from getting into my mailbox? |
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A. |
We offer an optional spam-blocking service that can reduce
the amount of spam received by 80% or better. The best thing to do is never
give out your regular e-mail name to anyone besides family and friends or
business associates. |
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| Technology |
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Q. |
Does bad weather disrupt your wireless services? |
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A. |
No. Sierra Advantage Wireless uses radios that utilize
frequencies between 900 MHz and 5.8 GHz. These frequencies ranges are
impervious to adverse weather conditions. In general, only frequencies
higher than 10 GHz are affected by weather conditions, and equipment
operating at those frequencies often becomes inoperable during bad weather. |
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Q. |
Can your service be affected by high winds? |
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A. |
Antenna equipment needs to maintain directional alignment
to the nearest repeater site for optimal performance. Our equipment mounts
are engineered to handle high wind loads and our professional installation
staff is trained on properly securing those mounts to ensure stability in
high winds. |
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Q. |
How can I be assured wireless technology works? |
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A. |
Hundreds of Wireless Internet Service Providers have
deployed their networks successfully throughout the United States over
the past decade. The technology is well tested and the industry continually
improves it. The system used by Sierra Advantage Wireless utilizes some of the
most advanced technology currently available (without getting ahead of the
research curve) and has been reliably serving communities across the country
for the past two years. But technology is only half the battle - proper
deployment is equally as critical. Our staff had been thoroughly trained
to ensure that both the network layout (in terms of repeater site locations)
and the customer installations are designed and installed for optimal
performance and reliability. |
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Q. |
Is wireless more vulnerable to network intrusion? |
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A. |
No. Our wireless network is as secure as any wired alternative
offered today. We utilize multiple levels of encryption and hard-coded
password protection in our devices to prevent unauthorized access to devices
or off-the-air interception of data signals. Your data communications are
completely secure at all points of the wireless network. |
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Q. |
Can I connect to the Sierra Advantage Wireless network while
roaming about using a mobile computer? |
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A. |
Yes you can, as long as you are within range of a repeater
site or your own customer site. While this is not the type of roaming you
may be accustomed to with your cellular telephone, it does provide you with
some degree of mobility (for example, unlike cellular phones that automatically
switch your connection from one cell site to another as you move about, you
can't seamlessly move from one of our repeater coverage areas to another -
that's why it's call "Fixed Wireless Broadband"). And as our network grows,
you will find an increasing number of locations where your mobile computer
can access our network. |
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Q. |
What happens if one of your repeater sites go down - is my
connection lost? |
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A. |
We have engineered redundancy into our network deployment
since day one. The equipment has been designed to detect link failures and
automatically reroute the signal under such conditions. Each of our repeater
sites is within a few miles of at least one other, so that if one goes down there's
another pathway available to direct the traffic. We even have multiple access
points in our Internet backbone feeds to our network operations center, so
that if one of our fiber backbone carriers goes down, we have another way to
get to the Internet. |
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Q. |
Will radio interference affect my connection? |
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A. |
Our equipment has been designed to continually monitor the
quality of the radio signal. If at any time it begins to degrade due to noise
from other radio sources, the channels can be automatically switched to
compensate for that condition. This ensures that your connection is never
degraded due to outside interference. |
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Q. |
Are the radio waves from your equipment safe? |
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A. |
Absolutely. Our subscriber and repeater equipment transmits
at very low power levels that are not harmful in any way. All of our
equipment is FCC Part 15 Class A certified (meaning that they're certified
safe enough for indoor use) and put out less than one Watt of power - equivalent
to a cell phone. |
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Q. |
Why is the Sierra Advantage Wireless radio equipment better? |
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A. |
Our equipment has been designed for maximum performance,
reliability, and contemporaneousness. We can handle hundreds of customers
per repeater site, we utilize a large number of frequency channels to work
around interference, our backhaul capacity between repeaters and back to
our network operations center is huge, and we have automatic failover and
redundancy features built into the system. Every piece of equipment, from
our center of operations through the repeater sites and even to your customer
radio/modem device is monitored around the clock for quality issues, and we
can often detect and correct impending situations before they become a
performance issue for anyone. All of our customer equipment has built-in
hardware firewalls to protect your computers from external intrusion.
Finally, all of our radio equipment has been designed to be future-proof
as much as possible - it is highly programmable and can be remotely upgraded
from our operations center to install new features, improve performance, or
even make use of new wireless data communications standards as they become
available. |
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