STL recommendations

[bigdonho]

I have a station that needs to replace their aging and unreliable T-1. The device needs to be full duplex and provide a digital path for data. Distance between studio and transmitter is only 1.3 miles but I will need to shoot over some trees. A line of sight path will require a 50 ft tower on the studio end but the building owner will not allow this. My thoughts are to use something similar to a Ubiquity Air Fiber. I have used these before with good success but the units are not very tolerant of lightening and require the feed horn at the dish to be replaced. What recommendations are there for a similar setup but that is a bit more carrier grade?

 

[fybush]

If you don't have line of sight, you're going to have trouble with any wireless path, including the Airfiber. Is there a fiber Internet provider that could provide service at both ends?

 

[bigdonho]

If you don't have line of sight, you're going to have trouble with any wireless path, including the Airfiber. Is there a fiber Internet provider that could provide service at both ends?

Studio end has fiber, however transmitter end is buried copper with only a very few good pairs left in the cable. Transmitter is down a dirt road in an extremely rural area. (It would be a great place for someone to dump a body!) Cost of running fiber to the transmitter would be enormous. They apparently had a working Airfiber-like connection at one time but lightening took out the studio end and it was never repaired. I believe the link would work in the 5 gHz band but was just wondering what would be the best equipment.

 

[secondchoice]

Is this station part of a cluster that has another FM or an AM that has access to fiber? If so what kind of line of sight is there from the other tower to FM tower in question?

Or is there a close building that will allow you to put an antenna on the roof in the back that is above the tree line? Two hop microwave STLs cost extra but you will not be dependent on a phone / cable provider.