Does PTP 670 Support Dual Carrier Operation for 950 Mbps Throughput? Licensing Requirements?

Products PTP
1

Dear Cambium Support and Community,

we are planning to deploy a wireless backhaul solution based on PTP 670 for critical infrastructure in a service provider environment (high availability, stable latency, and long-term reliability are essential).

Our primary questions are as follows:

  1. Does the PTP 670 support Dual Carrier mode to reach close to 950 Mbps net throughput (Layer 2)?

We are aware that the PTP 670 supports very high spectral efficiency (up to 10 bit/s/Hz) and can operate with up to 45 MHz channel width. Some documentation suggests that ~450 Mbps is possible per carrier under ideal conditions (e.g., 256QAM MIMO-B).

So:

  • Can two independent carriers (Dual Carrier mode) be operated simultaneously?
  • If yes, is it possible to achieve a combined Layer 2 throughput near 900–950 Mbps?
  1. Is an additional license required to enable Dual Carrier mode on PTP 670?

We noticed that there is no official part number for a “Dual Carrier License” in the standard Cambium feature matrix, yet several resellers and integration guides mention that a license is needed to enable this feature.

Could Cambium please clarify:

  • Is Dual Carrier functionality available out-of-the-box or license-locked?
  • If licensing is required, what is the part number or process to activate it?

If 950 Mbps is not realistically achievable with PTP 670 – what product would you recommend instead?

We’re comparing the PTP 670 to the PTP 550, which officially supports Channel Bonding (2x80 MHz) and achieves up to 1.4 Gbps aggregate. However, PTP 550 lacks certain features like SyncE, 1588v2 timing, and advanced interference resilience.

In your opinion:

  • Is the PTP 670 still the better choice for mission-critical links in noisy environments, even if peak throughput is lower?
  • Or should we consider another Cambium product like PTP 820 or cnWave for gigabit-scale carrier-grade backhauls?

Use Case Summary

  • Link distance: ~3 km
  • Environment: Mountain valley with line-of-sight
  • Frequency Band: 5.8 GHz license-free
  • Target: ~950 Mbps L2 throughput
  • Application: ISP-grade link for critical infrastructure (carrier-class expectations)

Thank you in advance for your support and clarification – we appreciate insights from Cambium engineers and experienced users alike.

Best regards,

2

Hey @Stephan_Peuckert welcome to the Cambium forums!

The PTP670 does not support dual carrier mode and at best case can only support up to 450mbps.

I’d suggest that you look into the ePMP 4500 or 4600 products to achieve the speeds you need using unlicensed spectrum.

If you can use licensed spectrum (e.g. 11 or 18GHz), then I’d suggest looking into the PTP850CX platform.

3

Hey Eric! Thanks for your Help.
What about the PTP 550 Platform? It looks like the 670 and seems to be performing well.
Has anyone deployed Force 425 in harsh weather or high-interference environments?

  1. Any experience with PTP 550 channel bonding stability over time?
  2. How does real-world throughput compare under rain or marginal signal?
4

I do not have very much experience with the PTP550. It’s an older 802.11ac-based radio compared to the 802.11ax-based ePMP4500/4600 radios and licensed PTP850CX radios. In general the AX-based radios seem to handle interference, signal fade/marginal signal better then the AC-based radios. AX radios also support higher modulations and higher bits/per hertz, so they’re more efficient using the same channel width.

I think if you need this link to be rock solid then your best bet is to go licensed with the PTP850CX.