Wireless instead of cables in a classroom

I am building a school that teaches people how to trade securities. I plan on having two classrooms with about 20 computers each, 4-5 offices with 1 computer each, and also an enrollment counselor area with about 6 computers. I have two questions. What is the best way to have dedicated bandwidth for my trading computers in the classroom? In my area they are advertising business cable but, I think it is burstable bandwidth. Is T-1 the way to go? Second question: Cabling can get expensive, would you recommend a wireless network? If so, what kind? — John C. Bang

I am building a school that teaches people how to trade securities. I plan on having two classrooms with about 20 computers each, 4-5 offices with 1 computer each, and also an enrollment counselor area with about 6 computers. I have two questions. What is the best way to have dedicated bandwidth for my trading computers in the classroom? In my area they are advertising business cable but, I think it is burstable bandwidth. Is T-1 the way to go? Second question: Cabling can get expensive, would you recommend a wireless network? If so, what kind?

The first thing to check is to call the cable TV company – make sure you talk to the commercial folks when you call, because the residential folks probably won’t have the answer to your questions. The cable Internet will probably be your most economical Internet connectivity option. T-1 is possible but typically will be more expensive. Look at wireless Internet providers. You might be able to get an even better value this way depending on what the current rates are.

When talking to the different providers, ask what their oversubscription rate is. That is how many times they have sold the same bandwidth you want to buy to different people. With the market you are in, the oversubscription rates may not be as significant as they might be in smaller markets. Talk to the vendor who you will be getting your software from and see what they think is best for your type of situation and use that as a starting point for deciding how much bandwidth you need to have.

As to cabling, get several quotes. A company that does nothing but network cabling should be able to give you a better value than someone who does cabling in addition to other jobs. While WiFi between the classrooms is a possibility, the concern I have is that it is unlicensed spectrum. What this means is that your setup may work today but if someone walks in with a stronger transmitter or better antenna setup that overlays part or all of your classrooms, you don’t really have any legal recourse because you aren’t the licensee for frequencies in use.

Using wireless within the classroom is possible. In this case, you might also want to recruit someone who specializes in wireless to help minimize problems down the road. While there isn’t one brand I can suggest over another, I can suggest a few things to look at. Use directional antennas to concentrate your wireless coverage to where you need it and don’t inadvertently become a WiFi provider to neighboring businesses. Look carefully at the strength of the transmitter in the WiFi access points. Some have as little as 27 milliwatts of power. The norm with what you are wanting to do is 100 milliwatts. What you want to do is possible, just do a lot of research to make sure that you get the right pieces in place.