7.5: Case Study: The Cottage
This case study will allow the effectiveness of the algorithms to be tested when the target area is a single building. While a pipeline is usually used to connect a last-mile network to a high-speed backbone, it is also possible that a single building may be in need of its own long-distance pipeline when no last-mile broadband network is available.
The Cottage is a seasonal cottage on Campement D'Ours Island in the North Channel of Lake Huron. The Island is connected to St. Joseph Island by a small bridge. The Cottage is located on a tall, rocky 12-metre-high peninsula overlooking the 700-metre-wide St. Joseph Channel. Directly across the channel is Holder's Marine, located at the end of Kensington Road. The Cottage also has a clear view of several cottages on the mainland, and Central Algoma Secondary School (CASS) is just out of sight.
High-voltage submarine electrical cables cross the channel from Holder's Marine to Campement D'Ours Island to supply power to St. Joseph Island. Telephone lines and a fibre optic pipeline cross onto St. Joseph Island at a location several kilometres to the east. While The Cottage is connected to the electrical grid, it does not have access to telephone lines nor cable television lines. It currently has an ExpressVu satellite dish for television, an Xplornet DirecWay satellite dish for Internet service, and mobile telephones from Bell Mobility.
This cottage also serves as a home office, thus it is in need of a broadband Internet connection. The owner of The Cottage is unhappy with the performance of the DirecWay satellite service. He'd like to be able to use videoconferencing and voice over IP services, but isn't able to due to the satellite latency. Therefore, he wants to explore alternative technologies to find something better. Because The Cottage has its own wireless LAN, what it needs is a small pipeline to connect that LAN to the Internet. The pipeline algorithm presented in this thesis can help to identify technologies that may be physically feasible.
The closest fibre backbone runs along Highway 17 where it intersects Kensington Road. This point is approximately 2.8km from the Cottage, including 0.7m underwater. There are no major physical barriers to making a fibre pipeline a possibility, so the answer to the first question will be “yes”.
The Cottage is connected to the electrical grid. However, the cottage has its own “mini substation” transformer because there are no medium-voltage power lines on Campement D'Ours Island. Only the high voltage lines that run to the St. Joseph Island substation are installed on Campement D'Ours Island. Therefore, medium-voltage power lines are not available, so the answer to the second question will be “no”.
The Cottage is located on a tall cliff-like peninsula with clear, unobstructed views to the east, north and west. While there is a clear view to Holder's Marine, it turns out that no high speed Internet service is available there. Visible to the northeast is a cottage on Mink Point owned by a friend of the owner of The Cottage, and it turns out that 3Mbps DSL is available there. Therefore, there is a clear, unobstructed view to some remote broadband-connected location within 50km, so the answer to the third question will be “yes”.
Since The Cottage already has two satellite dishes in operation, it is clear that a view of the southern sky is available. Therefore, the answer to the fourth question will be “yes”.
The length of the path the fibre would take is approximately 2.8km. Three kilometres is entered as the answer to the fifth question. The length of the path that a BPL pipeline would take is not applicable, so nothing is entered for the sixth question. The line-of-sight length to that remote cottage is approximately 2.9km, so 3km is entered as the answer to the seventh question.
Finally, the results come in. Fibre is physically feasible, and the price range is $30,000 to $60,000. BPL is not physically feasible because its basic requirements are not met. Since the line-of-sight distance is under 20km, a WiFi pipeline is physically feasible. This equipment starts at about $500. Since the line-of-sight distance is under 200km, a Canopy or WiMAX pipeline is physically feasible, with prices starting around $20,000. Since a clear view of the southern sky is possible, a satellite pipeline is physically feasible. The Cottage doesn't need a very high capacity pipeline (just a few megabits per second), and it has a maximum budget of a couple thousand dollars. Therefore, a fibre pipeline is not economically feasible, nor is Canopy or WiMAX. Satellite is an unattractive option because of its latency. A WiFi pipeline is, however, both affordable and feasible.
A pair of directional antennas and access points are available for $500 and are capable of at least a few kilometres. One antenna and access point could be hooked up to a DSL modem at the Mink Point cottage, while another antenna and access point could be connected to the LAN at the Cottage. If the antennas can be installed outdoors within sight of each other, this WiFi pipeline could very well solve the connectivity problem at The Cottage.
© Jake Cormier, 2006 [jake (at) stormcloudstudios.com]
Completed as a partial requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Science (specialized)
Department of Computer Science :: Algoma University College :: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario :: Spring 2006