Frequently Asked Questions
- Who is Ocean Broadband?
- Ocean Broadband Ltd is a Western Australian company formed in 2004. It is a member of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) scheme and is a licensed carrier for telecommunications traffic in Australia. See About Ocean Broadband for more information.
- Does Ocean Broadband provide ADSL?
- No. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is just one method for providing an internet connection. The term broadband refers to any connection to the internet with at least 256Kbps of bandwidth. Ocean Broadband provides services from 512Kbps using a state-of-the-art wireless system that does not require a telephone line.
- What equipment do I need?
- A wireless receiver module is attached to your roof and connected to an Ethernet port inside your home. Using this Enthernet port, you can connect a PC, a Mac or even a wireless router to your broadband service.
- What is involved in the installation?
- We install a small antenna on or near the roof of your home or business. Then a Category 5 (or Category 6) cable is run down and into your home.
- What is the typical lead time to have your service installed?
- If your location is within range of our network, we aim to install within three weeks.
- What are the requirements for my PC to use Ocean Broadband's service?
- Your PC must have a 10BaseT or 100BaseT Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC). We do not load any software onto your computer. Any computer that has a web browser can be used with our service.
- Do I need a phone line?
- No. Ocean Broadband delivers services wirelessly and does not require a phone line.
- How does Ocean Broadband's wireless broadband compare to dial-up?
- Dial-up operates at 14.4 - 56Kbps. Our service operates from 512Kbps to 2048Kbps (2Mbps) depending on the service plan you choose, a performance improvement of 5 to 40 times the fastest available dial-up. Also, our service is ‘always on’ so you don’t need to reconnect each time you want to use it.
- How does Ocean Broadband's wireless broadband compare to ADSL and Cable Modem?
- Unlike ADSL or Cable Modem, our service does not depend on telephone or cable TV infrastructure. This enables Ocean Broadband to reach many neighbourhoods where ADSL and Cable Modem are unable or unwilling to go. Our service plans offer performance comparable to ADSL and Cable Modem service providers.
- 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 Ocean Broadband uses short-range wireless technology with links that are no more than 16km long, compared with satellite where your signal travels over 70,000km. The distance involved in satellite communication imposes huge performance penalties on two-way interactive applications, regardless of bandwidth. Satellite based systems are also subject to weather outages similar to satellite TV reception.
- How secure is Ocean Broadband's Service?
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The Motorola Canopy Wireless system used by Ocean Broadband has 3 features that make it very secure:
- Proprietary. The Motorola system uses completely proprietary technology for the Radio Frequency signals as well as the data protocols.
- Authentication. No Motorola radio can communicate with our tower without first having its Electronic Serial Number authenticated against our list of allowed radios. Authentication uses a BRAID cipher as used by cellular networks.
- Encryption. Motorola Canopy encrypts the user data over the air using 56 bit DES encryption.
- How does the weather affect Ocean Broadband's Service?
- With the frequencies and distances in our network, signal degradation due to heavy rain or fog are negligible and should not affect your service. For example, signal loss due to heavy rain is typically less than .2db and our system is designed with at least a 9db margin.
- How large is the antenna used to provide your service? Will I need a permit to place it on my building or home?
- The antenna we use is just 29.9cm tall and 8.6cm wide. Depending on distance to the nearest tower we may need to use a reflector that is about 45cm in diameter. Our equipment falls under the ACMA provisions for "low impact devices" and therefore should not require any special permit.
- Are there any health concerns with the wireless signal?
- No. The technology used by Ocean Broadband operates at very low power levels, similar to a mobile phone. For more details, see Motorola.
- What wireless system do you use? Is it WiFi?
- Wireless LAN (802.11 or WiFi) is frequently used in homes and offices and is excellent for very short range data communication. We use a more robust and longer range system provided called Canopy Wireless from Motorola.
- Do I need to have a separate ISP service with Ocean Broadband's service?
- No, Internet access is included as part of our service. We provide email accounts as a standard part of our plans. You may wish to continue using a dial-up ISP if you travel frequently since Ocean Broadband does not currently offer a dial-up service.
Your Question Not Listed?
Email your Request to: faq@oceanbroadband.net
Note: This email does not get checked daily, for an immediate response to your enquiry please contact the relevant department, contact details can be found here.