Point-to-Multipoint

What is Point-to-Multipoint?

In a point-to-multipoint network, an access point at the tower covers an arc of the countryside. Every customer antenna in that arc aims at it, and the shared radio capacity is divided among them over time. This is different from a point-to-point link, which joins just two places with a narrow beam. The design is efficient because one tower can serve a whole valley instead of needing a dish pair for every house.

The words describe the layout of the network, not the speed of any one customer. Nothing in the term sets a number of homes per tower, and High Desert has not published one.

Why does it matter on a fixed wireless connection?

A shared sector means that capacity is shared too. Each home still has its own antenna and its own signal path, but the tower radio spreads its time among everyone it serves. That is one reason the company writes its speeds as up to figures, and why busy evening hours can feel different from mid-morning. The company also says plainly that service needs a clear path from a tower to the roof, as in line of sight.

In Northern Nevada the arc matters. A hill to the east can shade a home from a tower that serves the neighbor half a mile away, and the tower that reaches a house may not be the nearest one.

What should I do about it?

You do not choose the layout, but you can help the path. Keep trees near the antenna trimmed within what the lease or HOA allows, and tell the company before you add a tall structure such as a barn or a row of poplars. Read how a wireless ISP network is built for the full picture.

To learn whether a path exists to your roof, use Check my address. A person reads the path from the nearest tower, then calls back.