Life with Live GoogleWiFi in Mountain View

1. One of our first customers at CeralVoIP was a nun, working for a non-profit organization teaching less privileged kids in Mountain View. She was kind of excited with the concept of "free internet" . She knew that she needed to get one of the wifi modems in order to connect to GoogleWifi, but didn't know which one to choose. So she came to our store and asked us which one would best suit her (we sell several brands).

To be able to give a good recommendation, we normally ask our customers how far they are from a GoogleWiFi node or antenna. If they don’t have a clue where the antenna is or how the GoogleWifi antenna looks like, we ask for their address and check it against the GoogleWiFi coverage map. Then we ask if they have a line of sight to the antenna. If not, we ask if there are objects, like trees or buildings that block their line of sight to the GoogleWiFi antenna. Based on these crude information, we give a recommendation on what kind of wifi modem will work best for a customer's situation.

For Sister Frances' case, we recommended the Ruckus wireless modem. We showed her how to configure this Ruckus wireless modem in order for it to receive GoogleWifi signal. For best results, we suggested to her to put the Ruckus wireless modem near a window facing the GoogleWiFi antenna.

When we were about to process her purchase, she asked us how she can share the internet access to some of her co-teachers. So we told her that she may need to get a wireless router. She asked for the price of the wireless router. The price of the Ruckus wireless modem plus the price of the wireless router might be too much for her meager salary. Since she was working for charity and noble cause, we decided to give her the wireless router for free. Then we processed her order and handed her a printed instruction on how to configure the Ruckus wireless modem.

Within two (2) hours, Sister Frances called and said her wifi internet is not working. So I did the usual over-the-phone troubleshooting.
My first question to her was, 'Are all the lights on the Ruckus modem solid green?'
She said 'No.'
So I said 'Ok. Is the unit on?
She said 'How do I know?'
I asked, 'Is the power cord connected?'
She answered, 'What power cord? Isn't this wireless?'.

I just sighed, 'I see.'
I said, "Sister, the wireless modem is wireless from your house to GoogleWifi Antenna, but it still needs power.' "


2. This retired couple has been to our store three times, and couldn't decide which one to buy, whether PepLink or Ruckus wifi modem. Every time they were at the store, they argued. The woman liked the Ruckus because it looked well with her toaster. The husband liked the PepLink because it was black, sleek, looks sturdy and well-engineered.

Finally, on the day they were ready to buy, the husband decided to purchase the PepLink wifi modem. The wife was quiet. We processed the order. Then the wife suddenly decided to buy the Ruckus, the husband was quiet. And we processed the order. End of argument, I hope.


3. There was this woman who was so obsessed with the Ruckus wireless modem that she wanted to touch it before she buys it. She would put her fingers around it, then underneath it, and then she would put all of her fingers inside the mouth of the Ruckus modem. And finally it dawned on us, that she was imagining that the Ruckus was a nail dryer.


4. This retired fellow could be our most excited GoogleWiFi customer. He comes to our store very early in the morning, everyday, to report to us his experience with the GoogleWiFi.

First, he bought a Ruckus wifi modem. He configured the modem as prescribed, then as bridge, etc., and described/lectured to us the best way to divine the GoogleWiFi signal. But realizing that he couldn't tinker much with the Ruckus modem because of its inherent architecture, i.e., no outside antenna, he decided to return it. In lieu, he bought a PepLink Surf 200BG. Not content with its 5 dBi antenna, he bought a high gain 15dBi antenna from Fry's. To further boost its power, he bought a Hawking Wireless Signal booster that was capable of boosting power output to 500mW. Next day, he reported to us, he had been working on it day and night, then confided 'There's not much difference. I must be doing something that is not right.'

Really! Of course, theoretically, to say the least, the download speed cannot exceed the max allotted by GoogleWifi, which is 1mb. The good thing is, his upload speed is higher than his Comcast.

The saga went on for a month: He returned the PepLink, bought a Ruckus again, returned the Ruckus and bought a PepLink again, one more cycle, until he felt that what he is doing was too much for our small business.


5. This guy, excited for his coming retirement in two weeks from 20 plus years of service in a major Silicon Valley tech company, decided to buy a PepLink wifi modem to connect to GoogleWifi. Looking very confident and talking very technical, I didn’t bother to ask much questions. I process his order, printed him a short instruction on how to configure a PepLink modem.

Days later, he called, and said “I can’t get a signal.’ ‘Alright’ I said, “Let me help you.’ We did the usual litany of over-the-phone troubleshooting. But still no signal. Nada!. So he decided to locate the antenna on the roof by running a 25-feet cable. Next day he called me up. He’s got signal, but very spotty. Then we did the usual troubleshooting, or should I say, counseling?

So in the course of our conversation he paused several times and I noticed he shouted, ‘Honey, can you hear me? Can you move it again?’

So I asked, ‘What was that all about?’,
He said, ‘My wife is on the roof, adjusting the antenna.’

I found out that this guy has an acrophobia.

Anyways, they did alright and now enjoy GoogleWiFi.


6. It is really amazing what people do just to get GoogleWiFi signal. These cousins from Los Altos Hills bought a PepLink wifi modem. They know that they are far from the nearest GoogleWiFi node. But they can see the antenna alright, with a telescope. They took advantage of that line of sight and equipped their PepLink wifi modem with a 10-foot antenna.


7. This six-foot-9 fellow did the same thing: he equipped his PepLink Surf 200BG with a 6-foot antenna mounted on a pole about 40 feet high. Although this guy is within the Mountain View coverage area, he’s getting a spotty signal. So bringing his knowledge and experience from his old CB-days, he installed a 6-foot antenna, mount it on a 40-foot pole, captured GoogleWiFi signal and never called us back again.


8. One day I got a call from this guy who is really interested to get onto GoogleWiFi. He asked questions about the features and differences of the wifi modems that we are selling. Because the price of the Ruckus is about $30 less than the PepLink, he decided, he will buy the Ruckus. I told him, he can order it through our website: www.ceralvoip.com , and we’ll deliver it to him personally, if he likes that, or we'll just mail it to him as soon as we get the online order. Fine, he said.

Finally he asked, ‘How can I register to GoogleWifi, I live in the southside of Toronto?’.

Uggh!


9. This Russian PhD working for nuclear research in a nearby university wanted to hook up his 4 computers to GoogleWiFi. He said the GoogleWiFi antenna is right by his 2nd-floor window. I told him, ‘Congratulations, you are one of those few lucky fellas who certainly can easily connect to the free internet.’

He then decided to buy the more expensive PepLink Surf with built-in access point. From the moment he left our store, about 11 a.m. that Saturday, he called up at least 5 times. He can’t make the wifi modem to work. So we did the usual litany of troubleshooting over the phone. No luck. Since it’s a busy day, I told him to try the routine, have patience until he succeeds.

Next Monday, he was at our store, riling and complaining about this ‘CityService’ that Google is providing. Oh well, I have no recourse but to take back his PepLink and refunded him.

10. This guy moved from Millbrae to Mountain View because of GoogleWiFi’s free internet.

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In the course of three months that we are selling wifi modems for the GoogleWiFi project, we encountered different opinions about the ‘free’ things that Google is giving. Some are concerned about Google getting to be the new private ‘big brother’. We entrust our emails, personal information, financial information, etc. to Google, because it is free.

The GoogleWiFi project is a different story. Being the frontliners, talking to customers on a daily basis, we can say it has lot of support from all sectors. Most Mountain View-ers, are thankful and wished this service is available to all. There are some few grumblings however, because some of them can’t get stable signals, but these are understandable. This is a new endeavor. We tell these customers to let us know, let Google know, so we can do something about their situation. There are some who complained about the high cost of wifi modems. But when we compute for them their TCO or total cost of ownership, they realized that the gadget that they need to connect to GoogleWiFi will be fully paid for in about three months, and their internet connection is guaranteed free for the next 5 years.

There are challenges but this wifi project is moving and slowly winning the hearts of the community.

Cheers!