We have hotspots deployed all across western virgina. All of our antennas are below EIRP power ratings. 1W for the 5ghz Back Hauls, and under 4W for the 2.4ghz hotspot antennas (these serve directly to customers on laptops, thus i used the Point-to-Multi Point EIRP).
Are there any other legal issue or do i need to register with somebody? We are now making around 100$ a day and i need to know if something may come up in the future to disrupt that income.
Ive done much research on the issue and from what ive come up with, as long as you are with in power limits, and using legal channels, you are within the law.
Only one thing I can think of to add, you are using equipment that is certified as FCC compliant? I.e. the whole system is compliant, not just bits of it? Is the system documented with accurate assesments of power levels and losses so that you can easily prove ‘due diligence’ to any Radio Regulatory Officer who is asking how you know it is under the eirp limit and not likely to be generating spurious emissions due to the use of Amps. Etc. I.e. good documentation that states where the bits came from, copies of any manufacturers compliance certificates, how it was put together, what checks you made.
thanks for the input. Maybe you guys can help (and maybe this can help people, as i kill it with this gear:
I use the exact same things..
Routerboard 433 or 532
Pac Wireless 5ghz Echo Antenna
Pac Wireless 90Degree 9db Sector (2.4ghz to laptops) or the same 17db Antennas when possible
Either XR2 or XR5 cards.
all of that is fcc certified right?
as for the amp i will check on that and report back. They are hyperlink Amps either 250mw or 1000mw depending on the install
also, i have firends who have been in this industry for a while and none of them have ever heard of being inspected by Radio or FCC officers. (im not saying it does not happen, just one of those things that does not get enforced) does this ever happen in reality?
I can’t comment on FCC regs. I only deal with EU regs. I know for sure that Ofcom (the equivalent of FCC in the UK) DO visit WISPs and HAVE taken action to have kit removed or changed for kit that is legal over the last few years. But usually only as a result of a complaint from someone else that they are getting interference or being given intelligence that someone is running an illegal system. If you are running less than the legal limit, and are not generating in-band or out-of-band interference due to the use of (non-)linear amplifiers, you’ll go unnoticed and be left alone for years.
Never did agree with linear amps on 2.4GHz. They create loads of noise within the band and reduces the likelihood of you using any other channels in the same band anywhere nearby. If you are using amps to overcome high loss / long runs of coax, use a shorter length of, or better coax! That way you get the benefit on receive sensitivity too
