Unfortunately the Government of Canada has not heeded the WISP industry’s requests and has pushed forward with this very problematic and expensive displacement. I wanted to check on the latest status of Cambium 3900 - 3980Mhz compatibility.
The below is my understanding, I am asking Cambium for clarification and will update it with any information that I receive.
Devices are either “non-compliant” (impossible due to hardware), “non-compliant at present “, “compliant and inefficient” (lose 1-5dB), “compliant and efficient”
APs
450 original AP C036045A011A - non-compliant and hardware makes it 100% impossible
450I AP C030045A001A - non-compliant at present
450M original “A” Medusa C030045A101A – non-compliant at present
450M new “B” Medusa - C030045A101B “compliant and efficient”
CPEs
450 original CPE - - non-compliant and hardware makes it 100% impossible
450I flatpanel CPE C030045C002A - non-compliant at present
450B CPE - (model number C030045B021A, listed as 3094HH in the REL) – “compliant and efficient”
Hi @CStanners,
That’s correct; as of latest Canopy software release 24.1.1, the 2 products below are tested and certified for use in Canada for RSS-198 (3900 - 3980 MHz):
Subscriber Module:
Model: 3094HH
Name: 3 GHz PMP 450b High Gain
Part Number: C030045B021A
They were also tested and certified to newest RSS-192 Issue 5 (3450 - 3900 MHz) so there is 530 MHz wide spectrum available, not just 80 MHz.
Thanks,
Dom
Thank you for the detailed reply on the compatible models Dominic. I had a few more questions:
-for the 3Ghz PMP450b high gain, is there an earlier revision of the model of the 450b that is not compatible to RSS-198, or are all 3Ghz PMP450b units compatible?
-It would not be possible to use PMP450m at many current 3Ghz PMP450I lighter-duty towers due to windload. At the heavier-duty towers there are many revision-A PMP450m. So is there any update on whether it is possible to get any of the following devices “compliant and inefficient” (lose 1-5dB)?
APs
450I AP C030045A001A - non-compliant at present
450M original “A” Medusa C030045A101A – non-compliant at present
CPEs
450I flatpanel CPE C030045C002A - non-compliant at present
The 3 GHz 450b is only one version. All of them are certified.
It is not possible for us to certify any of those models cited because the RF performance degradation at these frequencies is not just a couple of dB. It is 10-15 dB lower for 450m, and >15dB lower for 450i, both getting worse as you go higher in frequency. These products were designed with sharp filters to roll-off the energy out-of-band (i.e. above 3.8 GHz).
I realize this is a difficult situation. When the ISED consultation first came out, we had an opportunity to re-design the 450m to accommodate for these frequencies and took it, releasing the new hardware (well in advance of the rule changes) in order to be able to provide something that would work under the new rules. This updated version has been shipping for more than 2 years already.
Certifying it took a lot longer than expected, but we’re finally there.
Hopefully, this clarifies things a bit. If you’d like, please keep the conversation going.
We are planning for our next generation product, Evo, to cover 3.3-4.2 GHz as well as 5.1-7 GHz, and targeting Evo launch in 2026. You’ll hear more about this in the coming year.
Unfortunately that is very far away and next-generation projects have a tendency to slip, in my dreams I was hoping more for a 450I frequency-only revision already in testing.