wisphopefull wrote:Looks like Chris was right about the AF5 interference nightmare too and denouncing the AF5, another reason they don't like him.
I think so too sadly.
The AF5 link is still not readily available and once they are I fear the carnage will be bad.
I do not think Ubiquiti understands that I am first and foremost a WISP and I fear for the future of my WISP
http://www.netlinx.net if any of these AF5 links start popping up within my service area. There are already a growing number of private airMAX M5 links in my area which by themselves have caused havoc but since they are not 100 MHz wide and only transmit when being used i can maneuver around them. I can just imagine what will happen if some were to be replaced by AF5 blasting out a full stream 100 MHz wide day and night 24/7.
I truly believe that Robert chose to do AF5 over AF11,18,23 because he saw how many AF24 links he was selling to non WISPs, I do not know the exact ratio but I have heard from different sources that the commercial IT bought well over 20 links to every 1 link sold to a WISP. I do not know how accurate that number is but we know there are close to 5,000 WISPs in America and lets say they all bought 2 AF24 links considering I have almost 20 that is a very conservative number. So if WISPs bought a total of 10,000 AF24 links which I think is conservative then that would put the number of AF24 links outside WISP sales at around 200,000. Now if you assume AF5 will do as well and I think it will sell even more as UBNT is getting a larger and larger foothold into the Enterprise market and the AF5 cost almost $1,000 less per link which was another mistake Robert made in my opinion.
So anyway with a conservative number of 200,000 AF5 sale that would put 4,000 AF5 links per state. There is no way that carnage is not going to happen.
As we all know Josh and Aaron and several others are already starting to see this problem and it is still not even readily available.
I get so angry because it took me 15 years to build up my WISP, countless long hours and tower climbs at all hours of the day and night to finally get a very profitable business running along so well. Yes Ubiquiti did save my WISP and allowed it to grow like never before and the combination of their gear and RF Armor shields I am even able to compete with Cable but the whole thing can come crumbling down with just a couple hostile AF5 links.
I just feel helpless to do anything about it. I also feel frustrated that Robert did not hold a meeting and even a public forum debate with the WISP operators which made him into a billionaire. I at one point was proud that our industry had a leader, someone that thought of us first and we gave him our loyalty and made him rich and powerful but it just seems that it was not enough for him, that he wanted more no matter the cost.
I feel the WISP community made it clear, we were in need of AF11,18,23 but he knew that private IT people would not bother with licensed links, at least not the masses. He wanted a link to appeal to the mass market not just WISPs and AF5 was that link.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this post are my "personal" beliefs and I have no prof that they are indeed factual, just my opinion as to why things are, I could be totally wrong.
