221–230 of 370 posts
>Run a smart manufacturing facility >Enable business-critical applications I'm not sure what manufacturing facility are they talking about but at the places I know you will get ridiculed for even entertaining the idea of controlling infrastructure over anything but good old copper or fiber. And they are right.
How is a private 5G network different from wifi from a consumer/business perspective? Does it have a superior range? (Honest question)
Digital Trends has a good article about this. You can read it here: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/5g-vs-wi-fi/
How is a private 5G network different from wifi from a consumer/business perspective? Does it have a superior range? (Honest question)
- Allows real concurrent connections (one "antenna" can connect simultaneously multiple clients vs. the switch that Wifi does for each client).
- The above improves latency, and you can achieve 1ms latency in private networks with multiple connections.
- The stack allows slicing which can help to isolate networks or devices.
How does this compare to Helium 5G? https://www.helium.com/5G
Helium is (initially) focused on shipping a LoRaWAN[0] network with a crowd sourced model for Lora RF hotspots that uses blockchain for to pay incentives to those supporting the network (via hardware, power, bandwidth). LoRaWAN focuses on low power, very low bandwidth, long range devices like sensor networks and simple controls. Nearest competitor to Helium's LoRaWAN deployment that I'm aware of is The Things Network…
Or just go with the free TTN. But I do agree that it's good to have icentives and I'm quite glad somebody is rolling out a large scale LoRaWAN.
How is a private 5G network different from wifi from a consumer/business perspective? Does it have a superior range? (Honest question)
Digital Trends has a good article about this. You can read it here: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/5g-vs-wi-fi/
3G/4G/5G are standardized and built for operators that are used to manage huge amount of users. A lot of effort is put in avoiding congestion, providing guaranteed bitrate/latency for dedicated services (like your phone calls), smooth handovers between different antennas, a lot of of security features, and obviously, an excellent user tracking in order to charge the customers.
I'd love to see _some_ pricing estimates. There's a good amount I'd pay to get something like this for some rural communities, but it's unclear if I'm anywhere near able to afford it.
Probably a small outpost deployment + RF gear, so (guessing) $500K up front and $10-20k/mo. I don't know if it's possible to get RDOF grants for individual communities but that might cover some of it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would guess it's more aimed at use in large factories, warehouses and yards, where WiFi is not going to be practical. I did a stint as a (software) architect for a large Norwegian engineering company, and at the time they were looking at getting a private 4G network setup, as their facilities were absolutely huge. I did a little research, and quite a few mobile operators actually offer private 4G networks for exact…
Could you explain what makes this tech better than Wifi? Does it have better range/deal with interference better? My impression was that the high speed profile of 5G was basically the same as that of Wifi, with exactly the same issues. Am I wrong/is it better in lower speed modes?
But it all depends on use-case and there is no clear winner for all situations.
I'd love to see _some_ pricing estimates. There's a good amount I'd pay to get something like this for some rural communities, but it's unclear if I'm anywhere near able to afford it.
Getting outdoor radios for rural access installed though is a bit more challenging, and I would be surprised if AWS was offering an outdoor solution here in the short term. Directional antennas and radio planning become a lot more important. There are a couple different players who will sell outdoor CBRS radios in small volume who all have pluses and minuses. CBRS is great for rural areas since there are often GAA channels available, but depending on the terrain may or may not provide huge area coverage. CBRS limits the height above average terrain and power you can deploy at. There are limits to the types of equipment and locations you can deploy without getting a professional installer certification. Getting the certification slightly raises those limits, but they are still something you need to take into account for wide-area access. You can actually get the CPI certification pretty easily via online classes offered by the different SAS (spectrum access service) providers. If you’re seriously considering founding a cellular wisp, there are some Facebook (unfortunately haha) groups out there that are pretty active and where you can get shoptalk questions answered about specific radios and technologies!
IMO the main value add from the AWS solution here is the access control, monitoring/auditing, and QoS management they are offering, which would be essential in an industrial setting, especially if running sensitive services over the network.