I’ve heard there have been some issues with the 900 MHz equipment. Does anyone know what these problems stem from or how they can be avoided?
What issues did you hear about?
haven’t heard any specific problems, just more of a warning from people saying that 900MHz isn’t working too well. Just wondered if anyone had encountered any problems with 900MHz, I have a bunch of AP’s and SM’s for 900 so i just wanted to make sure.
I haven’t had any problems related specifically to the 900MHz spectrum. The problems tend to be in the software releases. Although, I’m just one operator vs. general populous of operators.
Obviously you could have interference issues with other 900MHz devices, as with any frequency. Maybe it was bandwidth you heard about or were warned about? As the APs are limited to 4MB aggregate throughput…and 3000pps (non 8.2 software)
I’ve stayed HPOL with the integrated APs and am about to venture into VPOL with some omnis here in the next month or so for a small POP in a rural area.
Most of the ‘issues’ attributed to 900MHz deployments are directly related to interference from other 900MHz gear. Many devices run at 900MHz such as SCADA systems, baby monitors, cordless phones, and so on.
The rest of the issues are related to firmware releases on the system.
These issues hold no water in any arguments, as the 2.4GHz band is usually just as dirty.
Proper engineering in the first place would have lead the provider(s) to realize that 900MHz might not have been their best option.
Just my .02 cents…
The 900MHz equipment is an awesome product and IF deployed correctly works impeccably. Some issues have arisen due to the firmware upgrades and interference is sometimes an issue, BUT, is negotiable when dealt with rationally and with sensibility.
We currently have close to 800 subscribers up and running on mostly 900MHz and a few 5.7GHz units and are having minimal issues other than the standards that come with doing business.
Deploy 900 MHz, it works great and is very low maintenance.
CM
Any system is only as good as the environment it is in.
You should do an analysis of the RF spectrum and have a full understanding of the environment prior to making any purchases.
The biggest questions:
- What is the noise floor? Are there spurious emissions?
Is the City/County planning any deployments at 900MHz?
Are there other Canopy operators in the area? Will they co-ordinate frequencies?
Are there other 900MHz sources in the area? What are they? Can the operators adjust the frequencies?
What is the terrain?
Where are the customers?
Where are the towers in relation to the customers?
I agree, investigate FULLY before deploying ANY wireless solution. Make sure you noise floor is good, and test from a range of area to get a good readout. I woudl also emphisize on the fact of whether there are other canopy user sin the area. If there is, and they are not timing, they can be a headache for certain setups.
I love the 900 equipment and in my particular area (with the exception of one out of about 20 towers) they work without interference problems if timmed correctly.
On the vertical… perhaps I used a bad antenna but I can say that I tried vertical with a canopy 900 and it was extremely unusable. However, there was a hospital that I found to be using that very frequency in the vertical spectrum and was probably most of my problem. Still, since then I stick with H-pol.