Re: MDU for the little guy?

"Jason McCabe" wrote:
> A friend has asked me to help him set up an MDU system for a new 80-unit
> apartment complex that he owns.  He wants to get bulk pricing from DirecTV
> or Dish Network and then resell it to his tenants at a higher price.  The
> installation should be simple enough; we just need to install a triple-LNB
> dish (for locals in that area) on each of the 17 buildings, and a few
> multiswitches where required.  Each of the 80 units would get its own
> receiver.
>
> It seems that everywhere I look, you have to pay some big company big bucks
> to design and manage a system for you.  But I am well aware that this is not
> rocket science.  To stay within budget, we just want to buy the hardware and
> do the installation ourselves.  Is this possible?  If so, where can we buy
> the hardware at a reasonable price?  After we do the install, will DTV/Dish
> let the owner activate without any hassle?  Or will they not deal with him
> since he didn't use one of their overpriced cohorts?


    You don't understand the industry.  MDU installers have been trained
and certified by the satellite company for their specialized skills, and the
satellite companies have a vested interest in seeing that MDU installations
are done right (to protect the industry's reputation).  MDU installation is
certainly not rocket science, but neither is it in the realm of a DIYer's
skills,
either.  There is a lot of what is called "signal budgeting" involved -
calculation of the amount of signal that is dissipated along each run and
at each component and connection - and it all must be accounted for in
the overall system design.  This is all to guarantee that the signal gets to
each unit within the proper range of strength, regardless of how short or
how long the run is.  To do this, a whole bunch of cost/benefit tradeoffs
are factored in, and that takes both training and experience to get a good
system that is reasonably priced.  Throw in the fact that a stacked system
would probably be best for your intended use, and you're already out
of the realm of DIYer common experience and information access.

     To assure that MDU installations are done right, satellite companies
won't even sell an account to an individual who is hooked into an MDU
system - MDU customers have to go through the MDU installation
company.  And for bulk accounts, you must also go through an MDU
installer.  And bulk accounts are priced on the assumption that *all*
units in the complex will be suscribers - whether they are or not.  That
would already wreck the economics of your friend's scheme.  And
then by adding the probable illegality of what he wants to do - and the
billing problems - and your friend would have a major (and monthly)
headache.  It would make much more sense to just hire an MDU installer
and let them handle the installation, subscriber hand-holding and system
maintenance and let the satellite company do the billing, and your friend
can handle all the other myriad headaches of property management.

=[ Fred ]=