u/Adventurous_Boat_632

I have a simple request. I bought a couple of Mikrotik SXTsq Lite2 for the purpose of what we used to call a "bridge" in early days of wifi but now I think would most accurately be called a client, they call it CPE I think.

I just need to grab an existing wifi signal, log in as a client, and provide wired ethernet to a device with an ethernet port but no wifi of its own.

I got it to work at home, once. By hard resetting, logging in by Winbox, and giving it the password to my home network.

But on site, I go to the easy setup page. I can see a list of networks to connect to. I select the one I want to connect and enter the key. Hit the "apply" button and immediately all the networks disappear and it just sits there saying searching forever.

The trouble is I can't find a good manual or tutorial for this system, and the array of options of the device in Winbox is baffling.

My rural county (probably with help from the state and feds) are assisting broadband outfits to extend high speed internet to places that never had it before, or had DSL when that was considered high speed, and is basically useless now.

The trouble is, they grant specific territory to a specific provider, and some are better than others.

One provider fought objections and bulldozed everybody who insisted they go underground, they correctly pointed out existing utilities are overhead and they wanted fast deployment and revenue. And to their credit they really got down to business and installed new poles where existing poles were too rotten and they were not going to fight the legacy poco and telco and got poles and strand and fiber up and got many thousands of customers served within a year or two.

Another territory has a guy and his son with a flatbed truck and boring machine and some vaults, they insist that underground is the way to go and have gallantly served a few dozen customers as of now. (Sarcasm mode) They are good people but progress is _slow_.

Another guy means well but not a very good businessman, never got one shovel of dirt moved and sold his rights to some other company.

Several places, my street included, have obvious underground preparations being made, but no web site, announcement, anything, because these companies are so small they don't have time for that sort of thing.

I'm asking how this plays out long term. I am used to the old days where it was ATT and Comcast and that's it. Once these little to medium guys get off the ground and profitable are they allowed to expand into each others' territory and compete or are monopolies the name of the game? How does it look to the consumer? Who sets the prices? (Right now the granted-subsidized areas are regulated by the county to some degree, I think.)