To support the growing demand for connectivity and digital transformation, South Africa’s internet service providers have taken aggressive steps to increase the quality and reach of their services. These actions include reductions in the costs of internet packages, creative bundling and some ISPs even upgrading their clients to a faster connection at no additional cost, all of which have played a critical role in empowering millions of South Africans to work and learn from home.
However, the gap between the haves and have nots in South Africa is one of the most distinct in the world. The unfortunate reality is that a person living in a rural or disadvantaged community is unlikely to be able to afford the cost of a typical internet package, even if there is the required infrastructure to put connectivity in place. Added to that is the fact that neither fibre nor mobile provide a viable, cost-effective method of connecting these people.
Enter Cambium Network’s next-generation access point, available from MiRO. The ePMP 2000 is the next-generation access point bringing interference tolerance to a whole new level with unique Hypure™ technology, which combines intelligent filtering and smart beamforming to deliver new levels of performance even in the noisiest real-world environments.
PMP stands for Point-to-MultiPoint and the ‘e’ in ePMP closer stands for equalise, which takes existing Point-to-MultiPoint (PMP) solutions to the next level. ePMP has set the standard for high performance, scalability, and reliability in harsh interference environments, all at a compelling price.
While WISPs are limited in how they can address financial barriers to connectivity, overcoming the access issue is now possible as outdoor WiFi can be put where it is needed with only three ePMP units. Two units form a point-to-point link and the third enables WiFi access.
An ePMP unit can be converted to an ePMP 1000 hotspot by loading the hotspot software image and adding a pair of omnidirectional antennas. This converts the ePMP unit into a standard WiFi hotspot which can be powered directly from the auxiliary port of the ePMP subscriber module. Normal WiFi client devices can connect to this hotspot and its WiFi traffic is backhauled over the ePMP link. WISPs can set up custom guest portals with various voucher systems and payment options on cnMaestro Essentials.
The Cambium Networks ePMP 2000 system consists of a high-performance, GPS-synchronised access point radio, a new compact high-performance sector antenna, and an optional smart antenna. Intelligent filtering improves both receive and transmit performance, protecting the network from off-channel interferers with a filter that dynamically moves around the channel.
On the transmit side, it protects the radio frequency environment by reducing off-channel transmission noise and the ePMP supports a wide frequency range of 5150 to 5970MHz. Smart beamforming drastically reduces the effects of on-channel interference. The system learns the locations of each served subscriber module and forms a narrow bean toward the desired subscriber module while that radio is transmitting in the uplink. This reduces the gain on the uplink for on-channel interferers that are transmitting at an azimuth angle different than the module, delivering performance gains never seen before.
GPS synchronisation and transmit power control allow for industry-leading frequency reuse. The ePMP 2000 offers unmatched performance and scalability and with the efficient ePMP MAC protocol and advanced air-fairness scheduler, up to 120 simultaneously active subscriber modules can be served without performance degradation. These access points are 802.3at compliant with 100/1000BaseT interface.
The Cambium Networks portfolio comprises of a number of different types of solutions that work in harmony together to enable WISPs to serve rural or disadvantaged communities and can be managed from the single centralised management platform, cnMaestro. This is known as Cambium Networks’ wireless fabric.
As we to rise to the challenges of Covid-19 and the necessity for connectivity in all communities, MiRO and Cambium Networks are actively seeking out WISPs wanting to use their skillsets to close the digital divide. Together we have a number of cost-effective solutions that can easily be deployed and managed to provide stable and affordable connectivity for many years to come.
If you wish to join us to charter connectivity in all community frontiers, learn more about MiRO’s extensive range of Cambium Networks’ wireless and networking solutions. Contact us or visit www.miro.co.za.
