Can I use your Wireless service as a roaming solution?
Our Wireless Broadband is a fixed location service, it is not possible to use it as a roaming or mobile solution.

Does the weather affect the Pacific Wireless (PW) network?
The effects of weather on Microwave radio signals vary based on the frequency used and the distance the signal travels. With the frequencies and distances in our network, signal degradation due to heavy rain or fog is negligible. Any degradation due to heavy rain is accounted for in our network design by allowing more than adequate signal fade margin.

What is signal fade margin?
Signal fade margin is the margin between the actual obtained signal level and the minimum level required to deliver a service. Fade margin is required in the event of deterioration of signal for any reason, and Pacific Wireless design all links to have large fade margins.

Can birds flying in front of the Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) affect my service?
It is impossible for a bird to affect your service by flying in front of your CPE. It is too small and cannot stay in position long enough.

What happens if a new building is put up and blocks line-of-sight to your tower?
In our long history this has never happened. However in this unlikely event, given our meshed network there is every chance we could connect you to an alternate tower. Failing that we would offer you another alternative access method or allow you to cancel your contract.

Are there any health or safety concerns with the wireless signal?
The technology used by PW operates at very low power levels, not much more than a cell phone, and much less than the amount that is emitted by your microwave oven. Also, radio frequency power drops dramatically as you move away from the power source. Our antennas would not be placed where any person would be able to stand right in front of it for any significant period of time.

How does PW’s wireless broadband compare to DSL?
Unlike DSL, our service does not depend on telephone infrastructure to deliver the last mile. This enables PW to reach most businesses where DSL providers are unable to go due to distance from the exchange or are unwilling to go because of cost. Also, because we are not bound by the physical properties of cables, we can offer higher symmetric speeds.

How does PW’s wireless broadband compare to Fibre?
Our Wireless service is excellent value for money, offering fibre-like performance and availability without the high cost and lengthy install times. We don’t depend on terrestrial infrastructure for the last mile, so we avoid outages such as fibre cuts or line breaks.

How does wireless broadband compare to Satellite?
Wireless broadband is sometimes confused with Satellite because they are both forms of wireless communication. The difference is that PW uses terrestrial microwave systems that are approximately 10 kilometres long. The latency on these short-range links is comparable to wired links like leased lines so the performance remains high. Satellite links have a large propagation delay due to the roughly 23,000-mile distance to geosynchronous satellites. This latency imposes a huge performance penalty on two-way interactive applications, regardless of bandwidth speed. For this reason Satellite is not usually suitable for business broadband applications

Do atmospheric conditions such as solar flares have an impact on my service?
This is a common misconception and is more associated with Satellite services rather than Wireless Broadband.

How long does it take you to install a new service?
If your location is within range of one of our towers and has line-of-sight to that tower, we guarantee installation in 21 days. Most services are commissioned within a week.

What do you install on my premises?
For standard installations, we install a small mast and a CPE (which includes an antenna that is approximately 30cm sq) on or near the roof of your business. Then a single cable is run down and into your building.

Where does the CPE plug into?
The CPE plugs into a power pack that has a connection for mains power and an Ethernet socket to connect Cat 5 cable to your network. For Voice or Fail-Over Connect services the CPE plugs into Pacific Wireless rack mounted equipment.

Can I install the CPE myself?
We don’t allow self installs as we use specialised equipment and specially trained engineers to carry out the work

What router can be used with PW’s service?
Any router that has an Ethernet port as its WAN or Internet port will work.

As a customer, what must I provide?
You are required to provide access to the CPE location, cable riser and equipment room. Additionally, you need to supply a GPO at 240VAC for connection of the wireless system power supply. This power outlet should be located near or within your telecommunications equipment room and within 1 metre of the termination point.

How secure are your wireless links?
We employ three techniques for maintaining the security of our network.
1. Proprietary Wireless Formats - Our network uses completely proprietary technology for the Radio Frequency signals, so any hacker would first have to reverse engineer the radio equipment.
2. Transmission Scrambling - Our proprietary signaling scheme randomly scrambles the transmission with one of over 4,000 million scrambling sequences, thus increasing the difficulty if intercepting a transmission.
3. CPE Registration - Our Network Tower equipment maintains a control table of authorised CPE’s. The CPE cannot talk to the network unless the Network Tower equipment authenticates the CPE and “adds” it to the network.

Do you monitor my service performance?
Our Network engineering staff monitor the network, base station and CPE in real time using our multiple state-of-the-art monitoring systems. Any network issues that have the potential to impact the service are identified early and actioned appropriately. Our customers and channel partners will have access to our C.O.N.S.O.L.E system which will give you visibility into the performance of your link.

Do you supply IP addresses?
We can provide you with IP addresses as long as you comply with APNIC guidelines, or you can supply your own and we will route them across our network.