CWX.NET Service Information

General Service Description

Colorado Wireless Exchange (CWX.NET) provides low-cost high speed wireless internet connectivity and data transport for rural business, government, and residential members. By using a combination of mountain top, high ground, and high building "repeater" radios CWX.NET provides bi-directional high speed data connections between points where traditional copper and fiber point-to-point links are either not available or too expensive. The CWX.NET network provides a cost effective alternative to Satellite, ISDN and T-1 data services for rural business and residential internet members.

CWX.NET uses unlicensed public spectrum which is shared by the Front Range communities without fee. The FCC's only requirement for using this free unlicensed spectrum is that all users must accept any and all interference, even if it produces unreliable operation.

To provide service to remote areas, CWX.NET uses high ground (mountain top) repeater sites. These sites have an excellent view and coverage area, but are also at higher risk of interference. In addition they are prone to "icing" caused by the wind driving moisture from clouds onto the radio, tower, and antennas. By evaporative cooling, the wind freezes significant amounts of ice to everything on the towers and hill top. It's not uncommon to have 6-18" of ice coating every surface and object on a tower after a several day freezing storm with moderate wind at the hill top. The hill tops get significantly more snow, and combined with very difficult conditions on north and east facing access roads, a failure may not be servicable for several days or more. A few sites which are near the maximim range of the technology, may see significantly degraded, or no, service from clouds, rain, hail, snow or fog.

It is strongly suggested that members which need internet access during these weather outages, maintain alternate internet access like a low cost dialup account, a cell phone data plan, or a plan to access the internet from another location (such as a WiFi HotSpot location in town).

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Availability

Fixed wireless service is delivered via microwave radio equipment. To be eligible for the service, a technician may have to visit your site, and evaluate the location to check that the site is suitable for radio communications, and to ensure that the equipment could operate properly in the planned environment. Most sites under 10 miles are easily supported as long as good RF line of sight is available and the Fresnel Zone is more than 80% clear. Link to FCC Exemption for Fixed Wireless Data Services is provided here for those concerned about restrictions by local regulations, rental agreements, and Home Owner Associations. Our standard antenna is less than the 1 meter size specified in the exemption.

Below is a general checklist which defines some important criteria which need to be present for a radio site installation :

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Equipment

CWX.NET Canopy system uses Motorola Canopy radios with small dishes to narrow the beam to minimize interference problems for the system and members.

CWX provides equipment and installation with a $200 non-refundable membership fee.

Because all connections are 24x7, we require members use a firewall solution. This can be either the Canopy built-in firewall, cable modem router/firewall product, or a Linux PC configured as a router, server, and firewall.

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Prices

Service Type * Member Fee Monthly Charge Fair Share
Canopy up to 1.5mbps Half Share $200 $35 38.4kbps average up to 12GB/mo
Canopy up to 1.5mbps Full Share $200 $45 76.8kbps average up to 24GB/mo
Canopy up to 1.5mbps Two Share $200 $70 153.6kbps average up to 48GB/mo
Additional Bandwidth Shares N/A $25 76.8kbps/ea

* Service up to 1.5mbps is only available where the technology and capacity is available. Speeds may be faster than 1.5mbps where capacity allows. Afternoons, evenings, and other high use periods, may be slower. Some remote areas, serviced by slower equipment, may be significantly slower.

We do not invoice, but currently provide quarterly email statements around the beginning of each quarter as a reminder to pay.

We expect members to pay their base service fee, in advance, at the beginning of each quarter. This amount is DUE on the 1st, and LATE if not RECEIVED by the 10th. The best way to avoid late fees is to get your payments in the mail on, or before, the first of each month. While most local mail seems to be getting delivered next day, we also frequently see it taking two or three business days. So waiting to mail your check on the 8th or 9th will risk a late fee at times.

A $10, or 10%, whichever is more late fee is applied for payments received after the 10th of each month. Accounts are delinquent after the first of the following month and will be sent a 10 day demand notice. Delinquent accounts which are not brought current within the 10 day period, are subject to a $35 disconnect/collection fee, and may be disconnected without further notice. Disconnected accounts are subject to 2% per month interest on any unpaid balance. Accounts not fully paid within 15 days after disconnect may be referred to a collection agency, or small claims court for collection.

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Fair Share Policy

CWX does not offer "Unlimited Use" rate plans. Members are encouraged to monitor their own usage using bandwidth monitoring and management tools.

CWX members purchase 75kbps shares that are about two to three times the speed of rural dial-up. To provide service faster than 75kbps shares, we pool unused shares, and share that unused bandwidth between members currently using the internet. This makes the CWX information highway something like a real highway, where when few cars/trucks are on the road, members can zip along up to the maximum highway speed (currently 1,500kbps or 1.5mbps, or faster, for most of the CWX network).

When too many members are using the information highway, fewer unused shares are available, and congestion causes slower speeds. Our speed limits help prevent a few members from turning our information highway into grid lock, with slow stop and go driving, that we see on real highways during rush hour.

Some streaming video services, like movies and TV shows, may pause or stop working on CWX, when there are not enough unused shares in the pool, or the member has not purchased enough shares. Using streaming video services during evening rush hour, may require purchasing additional shares, or choosing to watch the streaming video during a different time of day when there are more unused shares available in the pool.

Members can purchase as many shares at $25/ea as they need, and are always free to use all of their 24GB per share per month "fair share". A 4 share $120/mo account will provide services similar to a typical business copper T1 service, much of the time, for up to 96GB per month. An 8 share $220/mo account will provide services similar to a typical business copper T1, most of the time, for up to 192GB per month.

If members want to watch more than a couple hours of streaming video a week, it's probably cheaper to use DVD rentals, or pay-per-view with satellite, for evening movie viewing at home. There is plenty of content that is available only on the internet, so we do expect that members will use video streaming at times, as that has become part of using the internet for many people. For very rural families, a trip into town may not be easy, so purchasing additional shares and streaming video may well be the best option.

Members not using the internet, or using it moderately, will contribute unused shares to the bandwidth pool, allowing fast access for others. Virtual IOU's are given for shares contributed to the bandwidth pool, that are used later to access internet "fast lanes". IOU's are issued every 6 minutes for bandwidth that was not used.

There are three types of IOU's which are good for 1 hour (fast lanes), 6 hours (medium), and 30 days (slower lanes). 1 hour IOU's turn into 6 hour IOU's when not used, and 6 hour IOU's turn into 30 day IOU's when not used. 30 day IOU's when not used, do not roll over, and are lost.

When very heavy use members run completely out of IOU's, they are limited to just the speed of the shares they have purchased -- the "slowest lane". Since they did not contribute enough unused shares to the pool, they do not get to access other members unused shares in the pool. This provides an incentive to purchase additional shares.

A heavy use member will have access to 1 hour IOU "fast lanes", after allowing some unused shares to convert to IOU's, by taking a break from using the internet, or using it lightly. This should work more fairly than the Fair Access Policy (FAP) used by many satellite services, where speeds are throttled back significantly for up to 24 hours.

Since the IOU's are given for all unused shares purchased, this works fairly for both half share members, and members that have purchased multiple shares. Members that run out of IOU's continue to use the internet at 75kbps per share. Members that want more high speed time, to watch more streaming video, can get that by purchasing more shares at $25/ea.

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Services Provided

CWX provides only basic ISP services: internet connectivity, DNS services, and routing for IP address blocks. We allow members to run their own gateway/firewall/server system (typically Linux or NT) and host their own low volume mail, web, and ftp servers. We also allow members to host a very low volume charity web/ftp site for non-profit organizations like a local scout troup, hobby club, or church - just check with us first.

The canopy radios contain a builtin NAT based firewall which provides basic protection for you home computers. The version of NAT on the radios only allows compliant IPSEC and L2TP VPN traffic; it does not handle the flaweed Microsoft PPTP VPN. If you MUST use PPTP, which is NOT recommended, you will need your own cable/DSL router/firewall if you need VPN access using PPTP or other non-standard VPN protocols. Review security issues with PPTP at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-to-Point_Tunneling_Protocol

CWX does not block users needing Peer-to-Peer services like Bittorrent. Be aware that once your "fair share" is exceeded, that your service may be significantly throttled.

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Acceptable Use Policy

CWX.NET purchases internet services for it's members from Level3 Communications, which requires that CWX.NET, and CWX.NET members to comply with the Level3 Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). CWX.NET members should fully read the Level3 AUP, and accept as a CWX.NET condition of service.

As such, the CWX.NET Acceptable Use Policy incorporates the Level3 AUP entirely. In addition, other restrictions may exist, including, but not limited to, any other member actions which may damage CWX.NET, Level3, or impair service for other CWX.NET members or Level3 customers.

CWX.NET does not allow standard members to directly or indirectly resell services, including sharing a connection outside the member's home/business or commercial web/mail/ftp hosting, or giving internet service away at a business location.

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