Cambium Networks announces additional PMP 450 AP models, including cost-effective small form factor models designed for lower-density/shorter-range micropop deployments.
Tuesday, June 23 at 9:00 AM Central Daylight Time
Register for the webinar here.
Thanks to all for joining today's webinar unveiling the 450 MicroPoP radios. Here is the recording:
And here are the slides:
There were several good questions asked at the end, and I will type them up and post them here when I get a chance. Thanks again!
Until it gets posted on the main site, the data sheet is attached here also.
Here are the Q&A that arose during the webinar... if you have further questions, feel free to post them below.
| Question | Answer |
| Can I integrate the 450 MicroPoP with equipment from other vendors? | No, this is part of the 450 Product family, and interoperates with other 450 equipment only. |
| How does the unlocking license key work with the 450 MicroPoP? | The 450 MicroPoP comes from the factory with a restriction of up to 20 SMs connected and a maximum range of 2 miles. If the key is applied, both of these restrictions are removed, and the MicroPoP can support up to 238 SM and out to its maximum range of 40 miles. |
| Is the MicroPoP CNUT compatible today? | Yes, the latest version of CNUT (Canopy Network Update Tool) can support software updates of the MicroPoP. |
| Is there a 3Ghz version of the MicroPoP planned? | There are no plans currently to produce a 3 GHz version, but high demand may influence us to do this… stay tuned. |
| Does the 2 mile limitation affect GPS Synchonization with other AP's (that might be set to 10 mile max range for example)? | No, you can use the frame calculator tool to ensure that the frame timing is set properly to synchronize your network. |
| Any idea when the Micropop products will be available in LINKPlanner? | The MicroPoP is already available in the latest release of LINKPlanner (available for download on the support site). |
| How well would this product work in an industrial environment such and plants and refineries? | The MicroPoP could be a great alternative to a full Fixed Wireless Access Point, provided that there are fewer than 20 Subscriber Modules required for the use case in question. |
| What is the Maximum throughput of the MicroPoP? | The 450 MicroPoP performs exactly the same as regular 450i Fixed Wireless Access Points. They can be modeled in the Link Capacity Planner Tool, and can provide up to 300 Mbps of aggregated throughput in a 40 MHz channel. |
| Do the Omni and Sector provide the same coverage? | Yes, very nearly. Both types of units can achieve near the EIRP maximum limits allowed. The radios can do a maximum of 25 dBm Tx Power. The omni has a 9 dBi gain antenna, and the sector has a 13 dBi gain antenna. Both can achieve the highest modulation levels out to the 2 mile range. |
| Does the 450 MicroPoP support AES-256 encryption? | Yes, the 450 MicroPoP will support 256-bit AES encryption with the optional license key (C000045K009A). This license key is $400 MSRP (only one license is required per sector, the subscribers attached will follow). |
| Is there any risks or downsides to mounting the micropop on a high site in place of a standard 450i sector AP? | No, aside from the limitations of 20 SM connected and 2 miles of range, the function of the MicroPoP AP is exactly the same as the 450i. Bear in mind the slight differences in antenna gain between the various models. |
| Is the user interface the same as other PMP 450 products? | Yes, this is a 450 platform product and shares the exact same software as everything else in the platform. |
| Will the 450 MicroPoP be software upgradeable to 802.11ax or cover the new 6 GHz frequencies? | Unfortunately, the answer is no to both of these questions. The 450 platform is a purpose-built software defined radio that utilizes a unique protocol. It is built upon an FPGA. It does not follow 802.11 standards-based protocols. Currently, this radio platform supports 4.9 to 5.925 GHz. We are deliberating a strategy to bring the 450 platform into the 6 GHz frequency band, but it will be new hardware. The current devices will not support this band. |
Is it possible to go to 80MHz?
@Ryan Ray wrote:Is it possible to go to 80MHz?
I don't think so... at least not with the existing equipment and backwards compatibility with first gen PMP450 SM's.
Pretty much a stopper for us then. We would love to use another brand other than mimosa for our micropops. AP's are positioned in such a way that tree blocks off all other signals, we can use 80MHz no problem with no noise, but at only 40MHz there's not a lot of room for faster speeds where we need to get into the 200+Mb/s range.
@Ryan Ray wrote:Pretty much a stopper for us then. We would love to use another brand other than mimosa for our micropops. AP's are positioned in such a way that tree blocks off all other signals, we can use 80MHz no problem with no noise, but at only 40MHz there's not a lot of room for faster speeds where we need to get into the 200+Mb/s range.
So why not use ePMP 3000?
I think you and I both know the answer to that question. The 4.5 firmware has not been great, the epmp3000 platform still says "beta" for 80mhz. It's not trustworthy enough to deploy at scale.
We will defintely be using the Micro-pops can't wait for them to ship. My only suggestion that would have made them better is 29.5v power input and 2nd ethernet port with POE passthrough. Why would this have been better? Well a lot of times we have clients that can see a tower but one of their neighbors can't so we put a relay station on that customers house with LOS to bounce the signal over to the client with NLOS. We use Nanostations for this ALOT since they have the 2nd ethernet port and POE passthrough a lot of times we can install the nanostation without scheduling a visit with the client because we don't need in the house. With as many 450b and regular 450 radios we have out there this would have been a GOD SEND for us. But with the lack of 2nd ethernet port and 48v power input on the micropops it looks like the only way this would happen is if we use a 450i SM at the customer house and hook the micro-pop up to the AUX port. Two reasons this will be a PITA is 1. because it will require a CPE change and 2. will require us to gain entrance to customer house to change power supply as well.
