19 November 2018
Cambium Networks’ routers are delivering speeds of up to 50Mbps in Drimnin. The firm reckons they’re showing how fixed wireless access can help bridge the digital divide.
Rapier Systems has completed the installation of a new wireless broadband infrastructure to connect the entire Drimnin community in Oban, West Scotland.
The Fife-headquartered wireless networks specialist says it connected around 50 properties in the area, including homes, businesses and holiday lets, via licensed microwave links which its engineering team installed over the course of a month.
As a result, the remote, coastal community – which previously only received an average internet speed of 0.5Mbps – can now access speeds of up to 50Mbps.
Rapier used Cambium Networks’ indoor cnPilot R201P Wi-Fi router which, as well as offering high capacity and fast installation, also enable remote access and management via an app. “This means we can fully monitor the network remotely and quickly identify faults if they arise,” says Stuart Wilson, technical director, Rapier Systems. “We can also offer support to our customers quickly and avoid the costly and labour-intensive need for site maintenance visits. The remote access aspect was key to our success, as everything was able to be managed directly from our operational base.”
Cambium claims its dual band cnPilot routers “streamline” components for a “simplified” indoor network. The company adds that they are backed by its cnMaestro cloud manager which offers end-to-end visibility of the network and customer devices.
Drimnin is said to be one of Scotland’s most remote places, located 12 miles away from Lochaline via a single-track road. It can also be reached by various ferry services. Cambium Networks’ UK and Ireland sales manager Dan McCarthy says: “Drimnin is the epitome of rural areas in Britain which are underserved by traditional fixed lined access, and this deployment shows how fixed wireless access provides a cost-effective and fast means of high-speed broadband deployment.”
