Hello, we are doing a new greenfield rural deployment and are planning on using cambium gear, with 5 Ghz and possibly 2.4 ghz (cannot use CBRS, we are in Canada). Spectrum is fairly clear and we have our own tower. I was wondering if someone could explain the differences between 450i and 3000 and specifically a few questions:
Does 450i have any differences in terms of nLOS/NLOS multipath that would benefit us in a rural area where line of sight can be challenging in some places vs ePMP 3000.
How does 450i compare in terms of latency as the access point becomes loaded vs epmp 3000?
We are trying to understand what the benefits of each radio are in rural situations, it seems there are benefits to both.
Is there any use case for using say epmp 1000 2.4 Ghz in addition to 5 Ghz to help with nLOS/NLOS situations, and if so what sort of range is realistic?
Is there a benefit to using RF Elements horns or split sector with epmp 3000 vs 450i
Does 450i have any differences in terms of nLOS/NLOS multipath that would benefit us in a rural area where line of sight can be challenging in some places vs ePMP 3000.
Answer: if your considering the same band, for example the 5 GHz, based on physics the nLOS/NLOS should also almost be the same. The PMP 450i may have a little more advantage as it has the OFDM protocols allowing multipath propagation on its advantage to improve the received signal.
How does 450i compare in terms of latency as the access point becomes loaded vs epmp 3000?
Answer: the latency might almost be similar, but the PMP 450i might again be a better option if you have several clients connected to the access point and better advantage if you consider the PMP 450m Access Point.
We are trying to understand what the benefits of each radio are in rural situations, it seems there are benefits to both.
Answer: both are good solutions, but the difference once you connect many customers and compare I believe the latency during live traffic or when you have a lot of interference in your area.But, you have a clean area, so do not worry about the interference.
Is there any use case for using say epmp 1000 2.4 Ghz in addition to 5 Ghz to help with nLOS/NLOS situations, and if so what sort of range is realistic?
Answer: 2.4 GHz has better propagation than 5 GHz, but low capacity transport. It would be you to assess well your area before using it.
Is there a benefit to using RF Elements horns or split sector with epmp 3000 vs 450i
Answer: in your deployment, in my view, just use the antennas that come with the radios. I suggest 450i integrated radios and ePMP 3000 with its sector and smart beamforming antennas.
Olympe has done a good job in answering you but here is where I differ.
2.4ghz has better ability to deal with trees but if that’s your problem use 900Mhz, same capacity but better propagation through trees.
The decision to use a horn or sector panel will have more to do with what you need. Horns are more of a spotlight to an area where panels are more like a flood light. If you have an area close to your tower that has a high inclination to the sector antenna then adding a dedicated horn for that area will improve your SNR and allow you less down tilt on the sector which means you can serve clients farther away better (not increase your service area of that tower). Horns are also better at capacity management. If you have an area that’s sub-urban and need to split a sector down, horns allow you to do this to neighborhoods rather than trying to mitigate issues that a wide angle sector would have. Also with lower subscriber counts you could offer higher bandwidth packages.
The biggest difference between the 450 series and the epmp is the ability to manage subscriber counts better in favor of the 450 series. Epmp is best used to open an area that has to compete with a Ubnt or MT ISP where cost per sub installed is a factor to your rates.