Towerstream: Dedicated Business Internet & Fixed Wireless Solutions

Welcome to the Towerstream Buying Guide. In an era where business continuity is synonymous with digital connectivity, choosing the right Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a critical strategic decision. Towerstream stands out in the crowded telecommunications market as a leading Fixed Wireless provider, offering a high-bandwidth alternative to traditional fiber and cable.

This guide is designed to help IT directors, CTOs, and procurement professionals evaluate Towerstream’s unique "on-net" wireless microwave technology. You will learn about the specific scenarios where Fixed Wireless outperforms traditional wired solutions—particularly in terms of installation speed and network diversity—and how to determine if your facility is a candidate for their high-speed, point-to-multipoint delivery model. By the end of this guide, you will have a clear understanding of Towerstream’s service tiers, technical requirements, and how their 99.99% uptime SLA fits into your disaster recovery and primary connectivity plans.

Towerstream’s service is built on a private, carrier-grade microwave network. Key features include:

• Fixed Wireless Delivery: Uses point-to-multipoint and point-to-point microwave technology to deliver high-speed symmetrical bandwidth without the need for underground cabling.
• Guaranteed Throughput: Unlike shared cable "best effort" services, Towerstream provides dedicated bandwidth with symmetrical upload and download speeds.
• Aggressive SLAs: Offers a 99.99% uptime guarantee, backed by financial credits, covering latency, jitter, and packet loss.
• Rapid Scalability: Bandwidth can be increased remotely (e.g., from 100Mbps to 1Gbps) within hours, providing agility for growing businesses.
• Path Diversity: Provides a completely separate physical entrance into a building, protecting against the "backhoe effect" where a single construction accident cuts all underground fiber lines.
• Low Latency: Optimized for real-time applications like VoIP, Video Conferencing, and Financial Trading, often rivaling or beating fiber latency in urban corridors.

• Scenario 1: The "Always-On" Law Firm: A mid-sized firm uses fiber as their primary link but cannot risk losing access to cloud-based case files. They use Towerstream as a secondary, "wireless" backup. When a local utility project severs the fiber line, the firm stays online via Towerstream without interruption.
• Scenario 2: The Fast-Growing Tech Startup: A startup moves into a new office and is told fiber will take 4 months to install. They contact Towerstream and are fully operational with 500Mbps symmetrical service in 4 days, allowing them to meet their launch deadlines.
• Scenario 3: High-Density Events: A major tech conference requires temporary 1Gbps connectivity for 2,000 attendees for one week. Towerstream installs a temporary link on the venue roof, providing high-capacity WiFi backhaul that is removed immediately after the event.
• Scenario 4: Urban Construction Hubs: A construction company sets up a temporary trailer in a metropolitan area where no wired infrastructure exists. Towerstream provides the high-speed link needed for CAD file transfers and project management software.

Towerstream utilizes a contract-based pricing model common in the enterprise ISP space:

• Monthly Recurring Charges (MRC): Based on the committed bandwidth (e.g., 50Mbps, 100Mbps, 1Gbps). Pricing is typically fixed for the duration of the 12, 24, or 36-month contract.
• Installation Fees (NRC): A one-time Non-Recurring Charge covers the site survey, equipment mounting, and cabling. This can sometimes be waived or reduced with longer-term contract commitments.
• Bursting Options: Some plans allow for "burstable" bandwidth, where customers pay a base rate but can exceed that limit during peak times, billed at a 95th percentile rate.
• Tiered Packages: Pricing varies by service type—Business Class (shared/value), Enterprise Class (dedicated/SLA), and Event/Temporary services (premium short-term).
• Add-ons: Additional costs may apply for expanded static IP blocks or managed router services.

To deploy Towerstream, the following technical conditions must be met:

• Line-of-Sight (LoS): The most critical requirement. There must be a clear, unobstructed visual path between the customer's rooftop and a Towerstream base station.
• Power Supply: A standard 110v/120v AC power outlet is required for the indoor subscriber unit (usually located in the MDF/IDF).
• Cabling Path: A path for outdoor-rated Ethernet or fiber cable from the rooftop to the internal network closet (often utilizing existing building risers).
• Mounting Surface: Availability of a "sled" mount (non-penetrating) or a wall mount on the roof to secure the small radio dish.
• Hardware Compatibility: A router or firewall capable of handling the contracted speed and supporting Ethernet handoff.

To successfully implement Towerstream, organizations should ensure the following:

• Rooftop Access Rights: Since the service relies on a small radio/antenna, the business must have the legal right or landlord permission to install equipment on the building's roof and run cabling to the server room.
• IT Network Readiness: A technical point of contact is needed to configure the handoff (typically Ethernet) to the internal firewall or router.
• Change Management: If using Towerstream for redundancy, the IT team must have a strategy for automated failover (e.g., SD-WAN or BGP routing) to ensure seamless transitions during a primary link failure.
• Process Readiness: For temporary sites or events, early engagement with Towerstream is necessary to verify line-of-sight from one of their base stations.

Towerstream is known for one of the fastest deployment cycles in the ISP industry:

• Discovery & Site Survey (Days 1-2): Towerstream engineers perform a remote and/or physical site survey to confirm clear Line-of-Sight (LoS) to a nearby hub.
• Contracting & Permitting (Day 3): Finalizing the Service Level Agreement (SLA) and obtaining necessary building access permits from the landlord/property manager.
• Physical Installation (Day 4-5): Technicians install the antenna on the roof, run CAT5e/6 or fiber cabling to the customer's suite, and install the indoor subscriber unit.
• Testing & Go-Live (Day 5): Bandwidth throughput testing, latency verification, and handoff to the customer's network equipment.
• Note: Timelines may vary based on building height and landlord responsiveness, but most urban installs are completed in under a week.

Towerstream provides a tiered support structure focused on rapid resolution:

• 24/7/365 US-Based NOC: A dedicated Network Operations Center monitors the network around the clock and is available via phone or email for immediate troubleshooting.
• Proactive Monitoring: Towerstream often detects and begins remediating link issues before the customer is even aware of a problem.
• Dedicated Account Management: Enterprise-tier customers are assigned a specific account manager for billing, upgrades, and long-term strategy.
• On-Site Technicians: If hardware failure occurs, Towerstream dispatches local technicians to replace rooftop or indoor equipment within specified SLA windows.
• Customer Portal: A web-based dashboard for viewing bandwidth utilization reports, ticket status, and billing history.

Towerstream provides a standard handoff that integrates easily with modern enterprise stacks:

• Physical Handoff: Typically provided via a standard RJ-45 Ethernet port or SFP fiber interface depending on the bandwidth tier.
• IP Addressing: Support for static IPv4 and IPv6 blocks to accommodate internal servers, VPNs, and hosted services.
• SD-WAN Compatibility: Fully compatible with all major SD-WAN vendors (Velocloud, Silver Peak, Cisco Meraki) for load balancing and failover configurations.
• BGP Support: For enterprise customers with their own IP space, Towerstream supports Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) to facilitate multi-homed routing environments.
• Network Monitoring: SNMP support for integration into third-party monitoring tools like SolarWinds or PRTG.

Towerstream maintains enterprise-grade security standards to protect data in transit:

• Encryption: Wireless signals are encrypted at the physical/link layer using proprietary technology and AES encryption standards to prevent eavesdropping.
• Private Network: Towerstream operates its own end-to-end network, meaning traffic does not traverse the public internet until it reaches a secure peering point.
• DDoS Mitigation: Available options for distributed denial-of-service protection to ensure link stability during attacks.
• Physical Security: All hub sites and data centers are secured with biometric access and 24/7 monitoring.
• Regulatory Alignment: Their infrastructure supports customers who must comply with HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and SOC2 by providing secure, reliable transport for encrypted data.