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Once a wireless networking is chosen, either because of difficult geography or because wireless is the most cost effective way of networking for a particular situation, it, like other forms of networking, comes with its own set of concerns that must be addressed, from land ownership, to problems with existing poles and wires, to finding and installing the necessary equipment.

Safety First: One of the first concerns in developing a network and the infrastructure to support it is safety. While the ideal place to install the network from the community standpoint may be at the hydro power transformer station, that is neither the best location from a networking standpoint, it is not the best location from a safety standpoint either. Two short notes about safety that are reiterated throughout this module are as follows:

• Stay away from power lines.
  
• DIAL BEFORE YOU DIG! Have the power company review your site and plans. They may help avoid an accident.

Choose the right tools for the problem - technology and Geography: The choice of components, antennas, access points, and other equipment depends very much on what it is that needs to be accomplished. Activity 2 deals with antenna choice. The network designer will need to be aware first of what the needs are of the community and users where the network is to be built, and what is to be accomplished with the network.

Is the network going to be a CAT5 ethernet which then connects via a series of long hops to a far away community? Or is it there a straight line of sight to a community only a few kilometres away? The devices chosen will depend very much on what it is that you are trying to accomplish, and what type of environment you're trying to accomplish it in. However, it is possible to be very creative - if someone tells you that it won't work, that may be just enough incentive to have it up and running within a few weeks. Study the equipment first, then pick what will work for you. Use your imagination. Geography in itself can be the major limiting factor in what equipment can be chosen for a network in some communities.

Follow code: Municipal, provincial, and national codes are in place for a reason. Generally, the code is trying to make up for an unfortunate event that happened to someone else, that the code-people would like to prevent happening again. Following code as it pertains to wireless design is PARTICULARILY important, as wireless design involves many circumstances and objects that can get people into trouble if they are not careful (and if they don't follow the code.)

Wireless networking can have you installing poles, climbing up towers, hovering around powerlines, working on mountain tops, protecting humans and equipment from lightning - there are plenty of safety concerns, and therefore, lots of code that needs to be followed. If there is a rule, there's probably a good reason for it.

Policy, Permissions, Partnerships: Wireless technology, though for difficult geography a much more cost effective way of transmitting signals, can still be very expensive. Savvy network designers will be painfully aware of this fact. Sometimes, even wireless networking is not within the financial capacity of a community. For those times, it's best to look at partnerships to see what other communities or organizations (public or private) may be willing to partner to bring access to one or more communities. This may mean that the government may have to be involved, provide access to right-of-ways, or provide a policy decision or permission to use a certain resource.

As much as it would be nice to have wireless networking happen in an ad-hoc and instantaneous fashion, network designers should be aware that sometimes there are hoops that must be jumped in order to gain the political permissions required to do the desired networking. This is particularily true (and costly) if licensed technology is desired as part of the network.

Security: Wireless security is an enormous issue. When designing a wireless network, think of the network like a CB radio, or a cellular telephone. Unless you make efforts to stop people from listening to your conversations, and from using your 'waves' for free, they will do so. So, a few things to consider regarding security:

• Hire a geek: If there is no one in your organization confident enough to be able to handle the security issues surrounding a wireless network, then it may be a good idea to find a qualified networking security person to help you out.
  
• Census, usage statistics, and I.P. Addresses: Each device will need to have a separate IP address on the wireless network, in order for the network administrators to be able to tell who is doing what, and how much, on the network. This is very important for setting bandwidth limits for users in order to control access to the media (i.e. your network) so that the only people who are accessing it are those people that you know about (that presumably have also paid for access to help cost-share.)