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Bark Technologies and Vilo Living Announce Partnership

Posted on February 28, 2023February 28, 2023 by vilo

Bark’s Award-Winning Parental Controls Integrated into Vilo’s Mesh Wi-Fi Routers

ATLANTA – February 28, 2023 – Bark Technologies today announced a partnership with Vilo Living, the Seattle-based technology startup with a mission to make easy, affordable, and reliable Wi-Fi connectivity available to anyone through their mesh hardware and remote management solutions. This partnership will enable Vilo users to benefit from the online safety leader’s parental control solutions by integrating in-home parental controls within Vilo’s mesh Wi-Fi systems at no extra cost to all of Vilo’s end users based in the U.S.

Founded in 2015 by Brian Bason, a tech executive and father of two, Bark is known for developing highly sophisticated, AI-powered parental safety tools that include a newly launched smartphone, an app, a local network hardware device, school-specific monitoring systems, the Parenting in a Tech World book, and other educational resources that help keep more than 6.5 million children safe at home and in more than 3,400 schools and districts nationwide.

As the first partnership to offer Bark’s safety tools within a mesh Wi-Fi system available directly to consumers, the Bark/Vilo integration can help safeguard connected devices within the home, allowing parents to manage when their kids can access the internet by setting custom schedules and screen time rules. Parents can also choose to block or allow access to online gaming and streaming sites or simply pause the internet whenever kids need a break.

“As Bark’s first integration with a mesh router platform available directly to consumers, we are thrilled to be partnering with Vilo across their product line, including their new Wi-Fi 6 mesh systems,” said Skylar Walker, vice president of business development at Bark. “Vilo has done an impressive job of creating a high-quality product at an affordable price point, and now offers the premier safety filtering tool as part of their product.”

Vilo’s AC1200 mesh Wi-Fi system which provides coverage up to 1,500 sq. ft. is now integrated with Bark’s in-home parental controls. The newly released Vilo 6 AX1800 which can cover up to 2,000 sq. ft. per unit will be soon integrated with Bark as well. Vilo customers can activate parental controls powered by Bark directly from their Vilo app and manage their Bark Parental control settings by installing the Bark Parent app.

“We are incredibly excited about this partnership,” said Jessie Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Vilo. “For end users, Bark offers a superior parental control experience that gives them control over any device connected to the Vilo network. For our ISP customers, this gives them a competitive edge and enables them to provide exceptional subscriber experience at no extra cost.”
Visit www.viloliving.com/bark-in-home for more information.

About Bark

Bark is an award-winning parental control app that helps protect 6.5 million children at home and in more than 3,400 schools and districts nationwide. Bark is currently available in the U.S., South Africa, and Australia. Using highly sophisticated artificial intelligence, Bark alerts families to concerning behaviors in a variety of categories, including cyberbullying, depression, suicidal ideation, violence, and online predation, and gives caregivers best next steps for how to address those issues. Bark monitors more than 30 of today’s most popular social media platforms and apps, as well as text messages, images, videos, chats, emails, and files. Families also get the ability to create custom screen time schedules, block websites and apps, and receive location alerts when kids are on the go. Visit www.bark.us for more information.

About Vilo

Based in Seattle, WA, Vilo Living is a technology startup with a mission to make easy, affordable, and reliable Wi-Fi connectivity available to anyone, anywhere. Through our integrated mesh Wi-Fi hardware and remote management solution known as Vilo for ISPs, we empower ISPs of all sizes to delight their customers with an enhanced Wi-Fi experience at home, reduce operating and support cost, and grow their business.

Who’s making these 3D-printed Vilo wall mounts?

Posted on February 16, 2023February 17, 2023 by vilo

In July of 2022, Cannon Vickery, owner of Vickery IT in Emmett, Idaho, posted images of 3D-printed Vilo wall mounts to Vilo Living’s Facebook group. “If anyone is interested, this guy will make wall brackets for Vilos,” Cannon wrote in his post. “They work great for us!”

The guy Cannon referred to is his neighbor, Brian Gregory. The second-generation owner of a promotional products business, Brian is used to getting creative. And over the years, he has received more and more help running things thanks to his wife and their five children. In fact, it was his sons that convinced Brian to purchase their first 3D printer. Not long after, Cannon came over with a Wi-Fi router in his hand.

“Cannon dropped one of these [Vilos] off at my shop and said, ‘Hey, can you make a bracket for that?’ I go, ‘Yeah, sure!’ So I took it out of the box, took the dimensions, and we built a bracket that looks good and is sturdy and easy to use,” Brian recalls.

*Vilo wall mount maker* *Brian Gregory (lower right) and his family.*

Less than a year later, Brian has printed and shipped around 100 Vilo wall mounts to ISPs in Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, and more. “All this was generated from [Cannon’s] post,” says Brian. “It’s been an interesting adventure for us!”

Brian charges $8.50 per wall mount and will priority ship to anywhere in the US. With only two 3D printers at his disposal, it usually takes Brian about three days to fulfill an average order, so he tries to keep some preprinted mounts on the side as well, just in case. Brian also makes corner-oriented brackets for mounting Vilos, and wall mounts for airCubes by Ubiquiti.

*Brian’s 3D printed wall mounts for Vilos*

“I can do all kinds of different things,” he added, explaining his willingness to get creative for printing requests from ISPs. For instance, Brian can print the wall mounts in different colors, or for ISPs looking for a way to keep Vilos stationery on various surfaces or angles, Brian is open to designing a solution.

The best way to place an order for Vilo wall mounts is to email Brian at gregory3dcreations@gmail.com. Brian also accepts orders through his son’s Etsy store at Gregory3DCreations.

More on Vickery IT

Vickery IT is an Idaho-based WISP that opened for business three years ago when Cannon Vickery teamed up with his two brothers to provide reliable internet to Emmett residents. Emmett is a small town near Boise with a population close to 10k. Today, Vickery IT provides internet to about 700 subscribers and anticipates hitting 1k subscribers by the end of the year.

*Two of the three Vickery brothers who own and operate Vickery IT, an Emmett, Idaho-based WISP*

“We started using Vilo about six months ago,” says Cannon, “because of the reviews we had seen from other ISP’s. Overall, we have really liked the Vilo router, and we love the ISP portal.” Cannon reports getting a great performance out of Vilo’s Wi-Fi 5 model in average-sized houses. And, outside of the firmware issue from last week that’s since been resolved, Cannon says they’ve been “impressed with the Vilo 6.”

“I also should mention we really appreciate how transparent and good at communicating the Vilo team is,” Cannon added. “We appreciate what the team at Vilo does in making our jobs easier.”

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Vilo Living provides complete Wi-Fi hardware and remote management solutions that empower ISPs of any size to delight your customers, reduce your operating costs, and grow your business. Schedule a demo today!

The Vilo 6 and Beyond

Posted on February 1, 2023February 1, 2023 by vilo

It’s no secret that when Vilo first launched its Wi-Fi 5 mesh routers in July 2021, the product had its fair share of limitations as it initially was a consumer-oriented product. But thanks to the feedback and suggestions from Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the original Vilo mesh Wi-Fi system experienced a significant evolution within a year’s time. With the first iteration of the Vilo’s Wi-Fi 6 model on the market today, it’s only a matter of time before the value of the Vilo 6 incrementally increases too!

In July 2021, the first Vilo mesh Wi-Fi router became publicly available. Initially developed for end users, the Vilo’s meshing capabilities provided a scalable home Wi-Fi option and remains one of the most affordable mesh routers on the market.

However, after hearing from ISPs who needed a comprehensive Wi-Fi management platform at Wispapalooza 2021, the Vilo team realized a greater potential for their product and made it their mission to become a trusted ISP solutions provider.

*Vilo Co-Founders Man Zheng (left) and Amie Hsu (right) at Wispapalooza 2021*

Immediately, they began partnering with ISPs to see what new features were needed to solve their pain points, even launching a public roadmap where ISPs could post their requests. In addition to performance and speed improvements to the Vilo router, new features were implemented like bridge mode, port-forwarding, remote configuration, and more. Vilo also wasted no time launching its cloud-based ISP Management Portal in October 2021.

As Vilo’s name grew in the industry, so did Vilo’s mesh Wi-Fi system’s capabilities, making it an even more powerful and feature-rich mesh system. Some ISPs have even taken notice of how quick Vilo has been to increase the value of its products.

“You know when you provide feedback? There are multiple vendors out there I provide feedback for that goes nowhere,” said Tom Magg of Community Broadband Networks at Wispapalooza 2022, exactly a year after Vilo’s initial launch. “With Vilo, every piece of feedback I’ve provided to them I actually see coming out in this next release.”

Flash forward to December 2023, Vilo launched its next generation of mesh Wi-Fi routers, the Vilo 6. The Vilo 6 is an AX1800 router that provides up to 2,000 sq. ft. of coverage per unit and speeds up to 1 Gbps. Meshing a 2-pack together provides up to 4,000 sq. ft. of coverage. Other noteworthy features include Hardware NAT, IPV6 support, WPA3, and more!

And like Vilo’s Wi-Fi 5 model when it was first released in 2021, this is just the beginning for Vilo’s Wi-Fi 6 model. In fact, new features are on the horizon already, including VLAN management and VLAN tagging, which are anticipated to be available in the second quarter of 2023; not to mention all the other feature requests from ISPs that will potentially be available in the future!

You can click here to order your Vilo 6 today and hop on our public roadmap to let us know what features you’d like to see implemented next! If you’re curious to see how far Vilo’s solutions have come since 2021, you can check out our public release notes here.

ISP of the Month: Rob Johnstone of Stroud Media

Posted on January 20, 2023January 20, 2023 by vilo

Rob and Jill Johnstone co-founded their Stroudsburg Pennsylvania-based ISP (Internet Service Providers), Stroud Media, in 2020. Today, they have more than 500 subscribers and even provide service to remote areas in Kingston, New York. Having only two full-time employees who primarily do installations and respond to service calls, Stroud Media is run by just four people. But according to Rob, their rag-tag team has an advantage over their big-name competitors.

The Stroud Media Advantage

“Our niche is customer service,” Rob explains. “We’ve gotten a lot of people that’ll tell us that they’re not treated very well by the local cable company—that they’re just a number to them.” When these same individuals discover Stroud Media, Rob says they’re immediately impressed by the quality of service.

“It’s hard to compete on price. It’s hard to compete with a company that’s ten times bigger than us,” he continues, “but we can compete in the area of providing excellent customer service and being able to not treat every one of our customers like they’re a number, and even going the extra step. And I think that’s where Vilo comes in.”

Stroud Media began replacing their Ubiquiti routers with Vilos in the summer of 2022. For Rob, who’s been involved in the wireless internet business since the mid-2000s and holds some of the top certifications in his field, it was imperative that he deployed a reliable Wi-Fi unit that could also be managed remotely.

“A big part of what we offer is the ability to remotely access our subscribers’ routers from our office so we can help customers without having to go out,” he says. “I think that’s where we excel and that’s one of the reasons why, when we found Vilo, we said, ‘hey, this is a product that fits in with what we want to do and what we want to offer our customers.”

Since they began deploying Vilo, Rob says he hasn’t received complaints or calls for service from his subscribers and that Stroud Media will be exclusively using Vilos moving forward.

*Rob Johnstone of Stroud Media LLC | Vilo ISP of the Month*

From WISP to FISP

As of late September 2022, Stroud Media, a mostly wireless ISP, has begun building out their fiber networks. “We kind of made the decision to go move 100% in the next few years into a fiber-based network.”

As local cable companies don’t provide FTTH (Fiber to the Home), Stroud Media is the first provider in Monroe Country, PA, to bring fiber to both businesses and the home. Today, 30-40% of Stroud Media’s customers get their internet through fiber, including several MDUs (Multi-Dwelling Units).

“So, we’re starting to actively build fiber in a lot of neighborhoods, and we’ve installed a lot of fiber in the last two or three months. We’ve made a lot of good strides in getting our fiber up on the poles and getting it to a lot more of our customers.”

*Stroud Media LLC | Vilo ISP of the Month*

Challenges of transition to fiber

Any WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) switching to fiber knows the process is not without its potential kinks. Rob relayed to the Vilo team some of the challenges Stroud Media has faced when building out their fiber networks.

“I think the biggest challenge for us is permitting some of the poles and some of the engineering that’s required to get what they call the make ready done,” he explains, “which is basically when we want to get up on a telephone pole and say the cable company or telephone company has to move their cables to make room for us on the pole, so that has been our biggest obstacle.”

Regarding the wait time for completing all the steps involved, Rob says, “it’s probably three to five months from the time we say we want to put fiber on the pole to when we’re actually out there putting fiber on the poles.”

When talking about the shift to fiber, Rob mentioned his interest in trying out the new Vilo 6 mesh Wi-Fi system. “We’re definitely going to be getting some Vilo 6’s on board and playing them!”

Despite the sometimes slow-going process, Rob is optimistic about Stroud Media’s fiber-based future. “In the next year, we’re hoping to expand on the fiber we’ve already built and get into more neighborhoods,” he says.

“I always tell everybody if it was easy anyone could do it. In this industry, my experience is there’ve been a lot of challenges and hurdles you have to get over, but if you stick with it, it’ll turn out in the end.”

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ISP of the Month: Matthew Thomas of WON Communications

Posted on December 21, 2022December 27, 2022 by vilo

WON Communications officially opened for business in Fall 2015 when two small Internet Service Providing companies, U-Link and Wide Open Networks, merged. “It turns out a company from Virginia had a trademark on the term wide open,” WON Co-Owner and Network Engineer Matthew Thomas chuckled.

“They enforced their trademark and wanted us to stop using it. So, when we merged the two companies, we just turned it into an acronym, and that’s where WON Communications came from.”

The name is suiting, according to Matthew, as WON (pronounced “one”) keeps things simple for their business and residential customers by providing a single point of contact. “[O]ne phone number, one invoice – hence, the ‘WON’ of WON Communications,” he says.

*Some of the* *WON Communications crew. Matthew and Cameron employ a team of 10.*

Self-taught from the Days of Dial-up

Matthew earned degrees in electronics and industrial management from Missouri State University and is a “Distinguished Alumnus” of Ozark Technical Community College. Despite not having any formal networking experience, though, he jumped into the internet industry in the early 2000’s.

“I just taught myself everything I needed to know,” he says. Matthew’s first internet-related experience was setting up Wi-Fi in his house back in the day when dial-up was the standard.

“I went and bought one of those Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Routers, the black and blue ones you can get from Walmart,” he recalls. “I tried figuring out how to use it—taught myself how to set the computer up as a proxy for the dial-up that was coming in so I could take dial up and send it out as a Wi-Fi and try and use the Wi-Fi throughout the house.”

After that experience, Matthew began setting up Wi-Fi for apartments and hot spots. He even landed a city gig providing Wi-Fi to buses. Those experiences led him to starting his own ISP around 2005 called U-Link.

Slicing Pie for Co-Owners

In the mid 2010’s, Matthew met Cameron Rose, whose background was primarily in construction, while they were shopping for internet equipment at the same forum. “We met up and had this shared vision of starting a project in the downtown Springfield area,” Matthew recalls. The two of them started Wide Open Networks shortly thereafter.

They divvied up ownership according to the Slicing Pie operating model, which provides a template for owners where equity splits are fluid according to how much time and resources each respective owner puts into the business.

“We didn’t have to argue over who owned how much of the business or was putting in the most time and all that kind of stuff,” says Matthew. “What that unique model let us do was, as long as we recorded how much time and resources we put into the business, the business ownership dynamically adjusted.”

The Slicing Pie approach was so successful for Matthew and Cameron that they recommend it to anyone looking to go into business together. “It’ll take away all the confusion [surrounding ownership],” Matthew added.

WON Communications and Quality Over Quantity

After Wide Open Networks began earning a positive cash flow, Matthew and Cameron incorporated Wide Open Networks with U-Link to make WON Communications in 2015. With the merger, WON had about 700 subscribers in their first year of business. Today, they serve around 1,330 subscribers in Springfield, Missouri and the surrounding areas; as North as Humansville and as South as Chadwick.

Pointing to the 5.0 customer review rating on WON’s Facebook page, Matthew explains how their focus is more on quality than quantity when it comes to growth. “We prefer to put time and effort into upgrading our network and taking care of existing customers before we run out there and try to just grow the network like crazy,” he says.

“Vilo solved a lot of our problems”

To further emphasize quality, WON began deploying Vilo mesh Wi-Fi systems earlier this year. After meeting some of the Vilo team at WispAmerica, Matthew tried some of the Vilos out. Much to his relief, the Vilos maintained coverage and didn’t require multiple reboots a day like the Cambium systems they had previously deployed.

“Vilo solved a lot of our problems, plus, they provided a mesh solution for some of these larger residential homes, and they just made sense, so we jumped in with Vilo and it’s just been great ever since,” says Matthew.

A staff member on WON’s support team estimates that they’ve already seen a 50% reduction in support calls since deploying Vilo. Matthew also loves that his support team can access network insights with Vilo’s ISP Management Portal. “It gives us all the information we need,” he added, “which has helped us out in situations that’ve been pretty tricky for us.”

Speaking about the Vilo Mesh Wi-Fi systems, Matthew says, “the Vilo maintains and supplies a good through-put for the standard 1200 to 1500 sq. ft. residential. The stuff stays on and works, we haven’t had problems with them rebooting.” For larger residential spaces, WON will install a sub Vilo for an additional $5 a month.

In closing, Matthew stressed the importance of having reliable equipment, like Vilos, in the customers’ homes. “Customers think that Wi-Fi is the internet. It is to them,” he explains. “And if the Wi-Fi doesn’t perform well, you’re the problem. It’s a straight line to the ISP. Understanding that is important for customer retention.”

Comparing Vilo 6 with its competitors

Posted on December 14, 2022December 14, 2022 by vilo

At Wispapalooza 2022, we announced the production of the Vilo 6, a manageable, meshable Wi-Fi 6 system. Pre-orders for the Vilo 6 began about four weeks ago, and the first shipment is expected to arrive in the U.S. on Christmas day! But what’s all the excitement about? Plenty of Wi-Fi 6 routers are already available in the market—what makes the Vilo 6 so special?

Of course, the Vilo 6 is an AX1800 system. A single unit covers up to 2,000 sq. ft. and can connect to 128 devices at a time. The Vilo 6’s recommended broadband speed is 1 Gbps (or 1,000 Mbps). If you compare those performance indicators to other Wi-Fi 6 routers (see chart below), the Vilo 6 easily runs with the rest of pack. However, the Vilo 6 clearly shines when it comes to its meshing capabilities.

While plenty of other Wi-Fi 6 routers can mesh together to create a whole-home covering network, the Vilo 6 is the only router that comes preconfigured to mesh. Since the units are preconfigured, setting up Vilo 6’s in your customers’ home is as simple as plug and play—meaning less hassle and more dazzle!

The preconfigured design also allows ISPs to ship the Vilo 6’s directly to your customers, who can then set up their home network themselves with our free subscriber facing Vilo App. This can really come in handy if you have subscribers who live in remote locations. The app also enables your customers to set up parental controls and guest Wi-Fi networks, as well as manage their devices and optimize channel selection.

Like our Wi-Fi 5 model, the Vilo 6 is remotely manageable with our ISP Management Portal. From the portal, you can get network insights, run speed tests and view speed history, remotely push firmware upgrades, view connected devices and signal strength and more!

Vilo 6 Unboxing

So to recap, the Vilo 6’s coverage, capacity, and speeds are proportionate to the superior standards of Wi-Fi 6. Its unique preconfigured mesh design will make installations a breeze for ISPs and their subscribers. And with the Vilo App and ISP Management Portal included, the Vilo 6 is the ideal mesh Wi-Fi system for ISPs.

Lastly, with a suggested retail price starting at $79.99 per unit, the Vilo 6 is easily one of the most affordable mesh Wi-Fi systems on the market—and we all know that doesn’t hurt.

The Vilo 6 is available for pre-order now until the end of the month—preorder pricing starts at $69.99 per unit (pre-orders only available for ISPs). We will begin shipping early January 2022. If you want to stay up to date on all things Vilo-related, and even ask the Vilo team questions or make suggestions, join our Vilo ISP Chapter group on Facebook!

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ISP of the Month: Byron Sierra of Central TV and Internet

Posted on November 29, 2022November 29, 2022 by vilo

Byron Sierra, a Network Engineer at Central TV and Internet, earned his degree in Network Engineering in November 2017 and started working for Central just a few months later. Central TV and Internet provides internet and cable to some 15,000 subscribers in the Cayo and Belize districts of Belize.

Byron’s interest in tech began when he was just 14. “My first choice was actually to become a doctor like my dad,” he explained, “but I found out pretty quickly that I don’t like to see blood.” Side-stepping blood-related work, Byron began taking apart old laptops from the hospital his dad worked at and putting them back together instead. “And I was really good at that, so that’s what got me started.”

Today, he takes pride in the work he’s doing at Central TV and Internet, specifically noting the company’s dedication to customer satisfaction. “Anytime a customer calls with any issue, we try to resolve it within 24 hours,” he explains. “But that has been difficult as of late because of the hurricane.”

Vilo Central TV and Internet — *Image of Central TV and Internet employees setting up fiber*

On Wednesday, November 2, Hurricane Lisa made landfall as a category 1 hurricane near the City of Belize. With wind speeds of 85 mph, Lisa engulfed many areas in the region with 4 ft of water. “It mostly affected the Belize district,” Byron recalls. “It brought down a lot of lamp posts where our fiber was connected, so we had a lot of fiber down and services were down for a couple of days in the City of Belize.”

Since then, Central TV and Internet has been doing all they can to accelerate repairs and bring internet back to the area, even recruiting some of their 130 employees from other regions to speed up the recovery process. According to Byron, they still don’t have an estimate of the total dollar amount in damages caused by Lisa.

When asked what he enjoys most about working for an ISP, Byron spoke to the sense of fulfillment he gets from connecting people to the internet. “You’re basically in charge of the internet—you provide internet services to people and provide connection to resources and entertainment. It’s your job to ensure that they get the quality that they want.”

“It can be a pretty tough job,” he added, “since you constantly have to be monitoring for network outages, but it’s satisfying at the end of the day to know that people are able to do whatever they want using your connection.”

One of the reasons why Central TV and Internet began partnering with Vilo, according to Byron, was to ensure a more stable and consistent connection for their subscribers. “With the Wi-Fi mesh units we were using before Vilo, we would get customer calls about slow speeds and weak connections in certain areas. But since we started installing Vilos, we’ve stopped getting complaints.”

Byron discovered Vilo during this year’s WISPAmerica convention in Louisiana. “We were researching for Wi-Fi solutions that would meet all our needs and Vilo actually was the one that stood out the most,” he recalls. “So when we got to the show, [the Vilo team] was one of the first ones I wanted to talk to.”

The two things that immediately piqued Central’s interest was Vilo’s affordability and manageability. “We’re a small company, so we were looking for something affordable that, at the same time, works well, and Vilo works really well. Like I said, we had many complaints with our previous Wi-Fi units but haven’t heard any with Vilo.”

Since first partnering with Vilo after WISPAmerica in March, Central TV and Internet has deployed around 70 Vilos and expect an increase in deployment in the coming weeks. “Our main Wi-Fi units will be the Vilo mesh units,” Byron added.

“Being able to manage our Wi-Fi […] was one of the biggest things for us,” he said referring to Vilo’s ISP Management Portal. “Instead of having to send out techs to resolve issues, we can just go into the portal and see which device is connecting, which ones have low signals, etc.”

Central TV and Internet’s experience with the Vilo team has also been a highlight of their partnership so far, according to Byron. “We’ve had a great experience especially when it comes to support,” he says. “They usually answer me the same day, sometimes within hours or minutes.”

Lastly, having just received his samples of the Vilo 6, Byron is excited to try them out and voiced his interest in deploying them. “I’m pretty sure we’ll be requesting some boxes of the Vilo 6 so we can roll them out to customers!”

Vilo 6 AMA Webinar Recap

Posted on November 17, 2022November 17, 2022 by vilo

The Vilo 6 is finally here! The same day pre-orders became available, Vilo held an Ask Me Anything Webinar with Vilo 6 Product Manager Eva Wu, Account Executive Jared Lubas, and Support Engineer Mark LaManna to answer all your Vilo 6-related questions. Before jumping straight into the Q&A’s, though, let’s visit some Vilo 6 highlights.

Aside from the obvious fact that the Vilo 6 is a Wi-Fi 6 system, there are some other noteworthy features. For instance, channel selection and channel width selection, both on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, are available on the Vilo 6. Other improvements include IPv6 and Smart Queue Management powered by Cake Algorithm. Of course, the Vilo 6 also offers superior speeds and coverage.

On the coverage side, a single Vilo 6 covers up to 2,000 sq. ft. per unit, and 4,000 sq. ft. per 2-pack. As far as speeds go, the Vilo 6 gets 600 Mbps on 2.4 GHz, and up to 1200 Mbps on 5 GHz. Last week, we went over some speed test results with the 6, but in case you missed it, see the infographic below.

*Infographic of speed test results of the Vilo 6 vs the Vilo (Wi-Fi 5)*

Without further ado, let’s dive into some questions!

Q: Will the Vilo 6 work seamlessly with any Wi-Fi 6 chipset that is an 802 standard chipset for Wi-Fi 6?

No. While the Vilo 6 does have the 802 standard chipset, it will only mesh with another Vilo 6.

Q: How many units can I mesh together in the same set up?

Currently, three Vilo 6’s can be meshed in the same set up. However, by the time pre-orders are fulfilled in January, we’re aiming to increase the capacity to six at a time.

Q: Can you mesh a Vilo with the Vilo 6?

No.

Q: Where can I buy if I don’t live in the USA?

Outside of the USA, you cannot buy Vilo 6’s from Vilo directly, but we do have distributors in Canada, South America, Africa, and New Zealand. Click here for more details. When in doubt, if you cannot find a distributor in your area, reach out to our sales team and we’ll work to make that happen.

Q: Is there a way to order Vilo 6 units that aren’t pre-configured with mesh?

Yes, you can order single packs, even in bulk. There’s no price incentive to buy 2-packs vs buying singles.

Q: What’s the pricing for the Vilo 6?

Retail pricing for a 1-pack is $79.99 and $154.99 for a 2-pack. During the pre-order period, a case of 15 1-packs go for $1,049.85 and a case of 8 2-packs will cost $1,119.84.

If you have a question that wasn’t answered during this AMA Webinar, or if you’d like to keep up with all things Vilo-related, join our Vilo Living ISP Chapter group on Facebook. If you’re looking to place an order to secure a Vilo 6 today, visit: https://store.viloliving.com/vilo-6. Lastly, if you’re curious about half-pallet and pallet pricing, get in touch with our sales team at sales@viloliving.com.

Is your network ready for Vilo 6?

Posted on November 7, 2022November 7, 2022 by vilo

Vilo 6 is not just Vilo with Wi-Fi 6, but a redesign in the same compact, easy-to-place Vilo case. We started with the chipset and settled on the Mediatek MT7621AT, which is used across the market from Asus to Ubiquiti.

Once we got the chipset down, we moved on to the OS. We looked at everyone’s needs from ISPs to end users, and found that OpenWRT was the best fit. So no matter if you need Vlans for your ISP or a better SQM (Smart Queue Management) for your home lab, Vilo is the right fit.

Now, those upgrades sound great, but how will the Vilo 6 perform? It was time to test that. We set up a simple lab for testing where the Vilo WAN port is connected to a network switch and on the same switch is a speed test server. However, we never turned off other access points and routers in our office, so the RF environment was as real-world as it gets.

The first test is what we like to call the “same-room” test, where we conducted two speed tests in the same room as the main Vilo: one hardwired and one wireless.

Same room (5 to 10ft)

*All results are average across 10 tests.

	Download	Upload	Ping	Jitter
Wired to Main Vilo	984.29 Mbps	994.29 Mbps	1.7 ms	0.74 ms
Wireless to Main Vilo	897.57 Mbps	589.57 Mbps	3.7 ms	1.87 ms

As you can see, the same room tests are outstanding, but you don’t stay in the same room. What about if you’re on the toilet watching TikTok you need to make sure Vilo is there for you? Let’s move on to the next room test and meshing tests, which were conducted in the same lab and RF environment.

Next room (20ft and through a wall)

*All results are average across 10 tests.

	Download	Upload	Ping	Jitter
Wired to Sub Vilo	446.86 Mbps	425.86 Mbps	2.84 ms	1.62 ms
Wireless to Sub Vilo (client 5 ft away)	336.00 Mbps	309.00 Mbps	4.06 ms	2.20 ms
Wireless to Main Vilo	559.14 Mbps	436.86 Mbps	3.6 ms	1.38 ms

If you think your networks are ready for the Vilo 6, sing up to be one of the first to place your order by clicking here (pre-orders starting November 15, 2022).

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An interview with Wispapalooza keynote speaker John Gill of KentuckyFi

Posted on October 13, 2022October 13, 2022 by vilo

On the last day of this year’s convention, Wispapalooza keynote speaker John Gill presented his success story. “In one year, I went from square feet to now I service over 50 square miles of coverage,” he began, recalling how his WISP, KentuckyFi, blossomed in just twelve months. Today, he has 75 customers and covers more than 900 homes. John was invited by WISPA Director of Communications Mike Wendy to share his WISP journey at this year’s convention.

During an interview with the Vilo team, John reiterated the central message of his presentation: “For anyone who is thinking about [starting their own WISP] and is scared that fiber’s going to beat them or anything like that—do it. Just go ahead and do it.” This enthusiasm comes from his own experience starting KentuckyFi. John is adamant that anyone can achieve similar success by utilizing online resources, seeking support from the WISP community, and making partnerships with companies that listen.

*Wispapalooza keynote speaker John Gill* – opening slide.

John’s own ‘just do it’ attitude is partially inspired by the fact that anyone can learn just about anything thanks to online resources like YouTube. “There’s tons of YouTube videos out there,” he said during the interview. “It’s just like nowadays, there’s a lot of people working on their car while they’re watching YouTube and turning a wrench. That’s the same thing that’s happening with the internet providing side of things!”

KentuckyFi isn’t the only WISP that came to life thanks in part to the knowledge available on YouTube. In last month’s ISP feature, Chief Se’khu Hadjo Gentle of RedFi Broadband shared how he watched YouTube videos to improve his internet providing capabilities too. And if you are ever unable to find what you are looking for online, the WISP community will have your back.

While John was admittedly nervous at the time of his presentation, he was excited to give back to his fellow WISPs who’ve supported him since day one. “I’ve worked for other businesses in the past where there’s been so much competition, so much head-butting. With the WISP industry, it’s completely different,” he said.

“If [your network] goes down for whatever reason, whether that be mother nature or your own accord, you’re a phone call away from getting it back up. There are people in the WISP industry who just love helping each other out.”

During his Wispapalooza address, John referred to companies like Vilo as “tools in [his] toolbox.” Whether it be Vilo or some other company in the industry, the most crucial part of any partnership, according to John, is the company’s ability to listen.

“One of the reasons I continue to work with Vilo is that they’re doing so much in the market of listening to us WISPs. You tell them what you need and they’ll work to get it to you in the next release. It’s kind of like what we’re doing for our customers when we go to a customer’s house,” he continued. “The customer wants a satisfying product, and Vilo does the same thing for an ISP.”

Watch Wispapalooza keynote speaker John Gill give his presentation here!

John cautioned against working with larger companies as they are more likely to be “set in their ways,” and care more about making “the biggest profit margin” than helping smaller ISPs. After noting the symbiotic relationship between WISPs and companies like Vilo, where helping one another achieve is in the best interest of both parties, John said, “That’s what Vilo is all about—helping you win.”

Circling back to his tool analogy, John also suggested never deleting industry contacts. “If you’ve ever seen a mechanic, they have these huge toolboxes. I see contacts, email addresses—I see all of that as tools in my toolbox,” he explained.

To conclude his presentation, John recalled how when he first started his WISP, a Windstream representative looked him in the face and told him, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” When asked if that person thinks he knows what he’s talking about now, John laughed, “well, his technicians are telling their customers about KentuckyFi now, so I’d say so!”