wifi project

[Lone99star]

I have been presented with an opportunity to provided wifi for a campground.
This is no ordinary campground, it has 2500 to 3000 visitors per weekend for 3 months in a row.
The owners have agreed to provide power only for 35% of the take.
I would like to offer the service for $10 per day or $15 per weekend.

I have never undertaken anything even close to this scale and know I have a ton of research to do but was wondering if anyone has had experience with this and could give some pointers.

The campground is approx 11 acres and L shaped, the only power is in the lower leg of the L.

 

[Xander]

Not trying to hijack but isn't it terrible that people can't go camping for a weekend without wifi?

 

[Paul Rodgers]

I know that there are really powerful weatherproof access points out there. I think that Linksys/Cisco makes them.

 

[ITligenceMatt]

Your pricing seems about right. I'm assuming this is more like RV camping as opposed to pitch a tent and rough it (if its that type how do people charge their electronics). Make sure you have strong out door antennas with good bandwidth and make sure everything is wired properly (underground preferred) as you probably don't want squirrels running across your lines.

For the billing aspect there is some software that will run as a custom firmware and some that would run on a server level. You may also want to see if you could partner with one of the big guys like "Boingo" or become a roaming partner. I know I'm more likely to connect to the wifi if they partner with ATT wifi or Boingo as its included in my home internet. else wise i'll just rough it out on my cellphone.

 

[dk99]

I have been presented with an opportunity to provided wifi for a campground.
This is no ordinary campground, it has 2500 to 3000 visitors per weekend for 3 months in a row.
The owners have agreed to provide power only for 35% of the take.
I would like to offer the service for $10 per day or $15 per weekend.

I have never undertaken anything even close to this scale and know I have a ton of research to do but was wondering if anyone has had experience with this and could give some pointers.

The campground is approx 11 acres and L shaped, the only power is in the lower leg of the L.

well here is some hardware to start with. I have used #1 & #2 to set up a rv / campground in my area it was a 14 acre lot I had 2 of the #2 antennas and they pretty much covered the 14 acres with a little loss of signal at the far end of the lot. you could also use solar panels to power some range extenders to help the signal.. if you have any questions you can PM me. Hope this helped

Hawking router

1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4&cm_re=Hawking_Router-_-33-164-044-_-Product

great antenna

2: http://www.rfwel.com/shop/802.11n-D...dBi-Outdoor-MIMO-Omnidirectional-Antenna.html

3: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833997137

4: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833996020

 

[Lone99star]

Not trying to hijack but isn't it terrible that people can't go camping for a weekend without wifi?

Actually they are at the campground for a festival not for the camping experience.

I'm not even sure I will make a profit from this deal but with 3000 people, if only 500 buy at $10 thats 5 grand. My cut of that will hopefully pay the operating cost and equipment in 1 weekend. Dreaming I know but what the hell, I'm a gambler.

 

[dk99]

Actually they are at the campground for a festival not for the camping experience.

I'm not even sure I will make a profit from this deal but with 3000 people, if only 500 buy at $10 thats 5 grand. My cut of that will hopefully pay the operating cost and equipment in 1 weekend. Dreaming I know but what the hell, I'm a gambler.

trust me they will pay. I have had great luck in my area im in ohio so its not even an all year campground..

 

[dswillia74437]

Take a look at Ubiquiti Access Points. Weatherproof and rock solid. Team them with mikrotik routers and you have everything you need and the cost is VERY reasonable. www dot ubnt dot com.

 

[Lone99star]

Thanks everyone for your help, you have given me a place to start.
I have been researching Meraki products along with the links provided here.
I have a comfrence call with Meraki at 3 today, they claim to have a complete plug and play solution (hardware and software) for around $1000.

I need to put this proposal together and get the system in place before Willie Nelsons 4th of July picnic.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[glricht]

Please let us know what you end up using and how it worked out. You've got me thinking about the tons of campgrounds here in Florida!