Cambium 2.4 GHz Future

[Trevor_James_Ivy]

Hey,

My team is looking into utilizing the 2.4 GHz band, specifically the ePMP 1000 series connectorized AP and the ePMP force 200 SM. The 2.4 GHz band is required for this application for coverage reasons and would achieve the bandwidth needs of our customer. After reviewing the EOL list, it is apparent that both of these devices are in the end of sale phase. Is there any plan for Cambium to produce a new line of 2.4 GHz PTMP devices?

Also is there somewhere I can see upcoming EOS products?

Please let me know if there is any information regarding this topic.

[CambiumMatt]

As posted in this thread:

900 MHz and 2.4 GHz PMP 450 - End of Life

I wanted to post this here so more folks see it… we have notified our channel partners and want to ensure that end users see this too. Cambium Networks is announcing the End-of-Life timeline on the following PMP 450 and PMP 450i units. Product is generally available until the last order date in the table below. In some cases supplies are limited or stock can be depleted ahead of this date based on demand. In other cases some limited supply may continue to be available after this date. SKU …

The best way to stay abreast of product retirement announcements is to sign up for the email notifications on our Product EOL Policy web page:

Product End-of-Life Policy

You can always see all the products that have been retired on the Product Lifecycle page:

Product Lifecycle

Based on your post, you may already be familiar with these sites, so forgive the redundant information, but I wanted to post links for those that may not be as familiar.

Regarding plans for new products in 2.4 GHz, I know the team is looking for feedback on customer interest in 2.4 GHz to determine whether a new product launch in this band (using current platform technology) makes business sense for us (and for you!). I encourage you (and others) to post here on your estimated opportunities to use such a product.

1. How would you use a 2.4 GHz product? Rural PMP connectivity, PTP, other?
2. What percentage of your network do you think could benefit from a 2.4 GHz product?
3. There is only 83.5 MHz of spectrum available in this band, and historically it has been quite polluted, and is still dominated by Wi-Fi devices… do you believe there will be adequate clean spectrum (especially at the subscriber side) to enable good use of any new outdoor broadband product in this band?

These are just my thoughts, and I would love additional feedback on this topic.

[Neil_Capell]

Hi Matt,

First I’d like to say that Cambium’s 2.4GHz PMP450 radio was a game changer for us. We’ve been using it for a very, very long time, and in our almost exclusively rural coverage area, we’ve experienced tremendous growth utilizing it’s nLOS capabilities. It’s been a reliable PMP work horse for well over 10 years.

For us, rural 2.4 just works, and it works well. WiFi density hasn’t been such a problem thanks to the rural nature of our coverage area, and most routers don’t seem to be strong enough to bother the 450 radio on the roof or tower at the customers home. Every now and again it can happen, but we simply change the customers router to an alternative channel, there-by eliminating the WiFi interference.

Naturally, the growing demands of the customer has increased the level of usage on these platforms, and 2.4’s capacity limitations are certainly more obvious versus 3.65 or 5GHz, where a 450i or a 450m was developed with a better cpu and higher capacity. Thankfully, most customers don’t feel the limitations, as long as it runs reliably. But as higher speed services become available, 2.4’s limits are obvious to more than just the speed-test happy customers.

Unfortunately for us in Canada, 3.65 is going away, leaving us uncertain about our future chances of offering the minimum broadband standard of 50/10 to anyone on our PMP450 2.4GHz platform. We’re hoping 3.9 can help, but that’s unproven at this point.

Thanks to our growth, a significant portion of our customers are on our 2.4 platform. The thought of Cambium developing a new 2.4 product that would potentially have a better CPU, higher bps/Hz, beamforming, an SFP port, internal GPS; all the hits… that would be amazing. We would buy many of them.

So I do hope this comment reaches you and your team. We have always appreciated the community engagement from Cambium with regards to new products, and we hope you do consider our feedback on this topic.

Thanks!

[Ken_Hohhof]

We replaced all our 2.4 GHz FSK systems with 3.65 GHz CBRS 450. Stil not a ton of spectrum, but the WiFi interference was an issue in 2.4. We actually did this transition before CBRS under Part 90.