We need higher modulation radios to increase bandwidth.
Cambium is very late regarding 11ac. MT and UBNT has working products out. No GPS Sync. But with low density installations they outperform a 11n radio easily.
Yes, Cambium might be a bit late on the 802.11ac front, but considering what they've managed to squeeze out of an off the shelf 802.11n chipset along with getting GPS sync working is pretty incredible. They've also managed to get the ePMP line to scale very well in PtMP environments, much better then any other 802.11n-based radio manufacturer that I've experienced (I've used both MT and UBNT in the field extensively). I think most people really want 802.11ac because of 256QAM... which gives you a little boost (10-20%) in performance, but the SnR requirements are about 5dB more (32dB total) to get that boost. The vast majority of radios in most real-world PtMP networks will most likely never see 256QAM... so why pay for it?
In a way, Cambium has already answered this call by introducing 256QAM in their PMP450 series, which is better designed/hardened for PtMP in large scale/high-density deployments and thus more likely to achive coveted 256QAM modulation than an off the shelf 802.11ac chipset. I would wager that most 802.11ac PtMP radios are going to perform the same or slightly worse then ePMP in busy/real-world environments, and if you need 256QAM and if that's where you're trying to operate in, you're probably better off with PMP450.
Yes. They do great with 802.11n. But when there is newer base technology I dont want to invest in older as I know I have to replace it earlier.
Using the Atheros .ac chipset instead of the .n is not a quantum leap but it is a technical successor. The higher modulations are achievable by installations where distances to cpes are short (we have such installations) or with higher gain antennas. Atheros based systems claim to get MCS8/20MHz starting at -75db. So it is doable. With .ac it makes sense to use higher gain antennas.
Additional the newer chipsets bring faster cpus which allow for higher packet rates.
The PMP450 is a for a different market we are targeting. Pricing does not match. The standard CPE has low gain so it has to be very close to get 256qam or it has to be mounted with a big reflector.
get your hand on some 450i for the newest gear.
eric we have seen 36-38 db snr and we have other wisp businesses in the area. the idea of having one tower shoot 10 miles is dead. time to make it 5-3 miles and offer lower power more down tilt and higher bandwidth. we have some older pmp 100 gear and are co locating epmp. we are seeing huge bandwidth increases that ( thanks to cambium) will keep up under load.
I would be very happy if Cambium implements this feature.
With the "ac" chipset, MU-MIMO technology is introduced, that can better serve the users in PTMP and improve the overall performance.
Great Idea Simon!!
might want to read up on MU-MIMO a little more...
We are definitely looking at this as part of our broader AC roadmap and initiatives. More info will be coming your way on this as we get closer.
Sakid