To: Siber who wrote (352 ) 12/29/1998 3:29:00 PM From: BillHoo Respond to of 956
<<So every area of the world is within their transmission range?>> Think of it in thge terms of a cellphone company. If you live on the East coast and get your cellphone service from Bell Atlantic, you normally cannot use your phone on the West coast. However, you can pay "roaming" charges to San Francisco Bell in order to access their system. How does the signal travel? 1) You have a cellphone which is essentially a two-way radio. It sends out signals in all directions. 2) Signal is received by you cellphone company's tower which send the signal to a telephone cable which connect to Ma Bell, MCI, or Sprint so you can call everyone else in the world who does not have a cellphone. 3) If you want "roaming service" you pay extra to let some other cellphone company host your phone temporarily when you are "out of transmission range". In the case of USURF technology instead of cellphones, we have modems (essentially two-way radios that transmit data instead of voice). Instead of cellphone companies we have ISPs rigged with USURF antennaes and receiver/transmitters. As long as you are in range, you get in the internet. If you are out of range, you'd better hope that another ISP in your area has USURF technology. Unlike cellphones which are now very common, wireless modem service is less common, so it is unlikely that you would have this in many parts of the country. If this company grows and acquires ISP cooperation, you will soon be able to have the service everywhere except low lying areas blocked by mountains that do not have a transmitting antennae perched on top of them. Just like a cellphone. Is there a cellphone company in Antarctica? -Bill_H