Fixed Terrestial Wireless

== Wi-Fi Hardware ==

A Wireless Access Point (AP) is the central bridge device used in an Infrastructure wireless network. Traffic from the wireless side of the bridge is sent to the Internet side of the bridge, and ''vice versa''.  The wireless access point controls all traffic with wireless client radios. The access point is normally pole or tower mounted at a location that provides good line of site coverage to as much of the desired service area as possible. The pole or tower mount will often contain two radios. One is the access point radio, the one that the client radios communicate with. The other is a point to point backhaul radio, that goes back to a central office and carries the traffic from the internet [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_presence pop] to the pole top.

Typically there is an radio/antenna unit mounted outside the house, in a location that has a clear view, or line of site, to the central hub radio. The size will normally be smaller or about the same as a satellite dish.  Depending on distance from the hub, the radio/antenna unit may be just a single weatherproof box, or for more distant locations, the radio/antenna may be mounted mounted on and pointed into a larger reflector that gives more gain. Unlike a satellite receiver system, the radio and the antenna are all located in the box mounted outside the home. The subscriber side of the radio/antenna is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet ethernet plus power] for the radio.  Putting the radio at the antenna eliminates radio to antenna coax losses, and therefore the length of the cable run from the outside equipment indoors is not a limiting factor for coverage area or receive signal strength. An adapter box is used inside the house to put power in the ethernet cable to the radio, but does not feed power back towards the client side equipment.