Ubiik, a leading provider of private LTE networks announced today the launch of a new focused on the use of private LTE/5G LPWA to support the growing IoT market.
Centered around freeRAN™, Ubiik’s pLTE base station designed for the 915 MHz unlicensed band (902-928MHz or a subset, depending on the region), the new website outlines the ideal use cases to leverage this license-free spectrum. Appealing to Utilities, Mining, Oil & Gas, Transport and Construction industries, freeRAN™ makes use of readily available spectrum to allow users to boost visibility over their operations by connecting thousands of devices simultaneously. Of particular interest to end users is the ability to take back control of their data and coverage with a private network.
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Low-cost alternative to macro pLTE deployments
The key benefit of utilizing the ISM band is the r****** of one of the major barriers to entry of deploying a private LTE network – cost. With companies spending millions of dollars on spectrum to build a private network, the introduction of an LTE base station to leverage this license-free spectrum has been game-changing. In addition, freeRAN’s compact, lightweight (less than 7kg), ruggedized (IP67) and low-power (PoE support) profile, together with its built-in cellular backhaul, reduce both the equipment footprint and the overall capital expense. An embedded EPC (core network) further lowers costs compared to high-end, macro-LTE solutions where the cost of the core alone – which is centralized – can contribute significantly to the overall network expense.
Increased throughput and security with cellular protocols
Compared to technologies which have traditionally been used in the unlicensed bands (e.g. LoRaWAN®, Wi-SUN®, Wi-Fi HaLow™), the other benefits of deploying a private network with freeRAN™ and its 3GPP technologies are better throughput (with either Cat-1 or Cat-M1), security (with SIM authentication and encryption), and the ability to roam to public networks for resiliency. The higher throughput offered by freeRAN™ provides an ideal solution for combining a primary low-power application (i.e. meters, asset trackers, sensors – leveraging eDRX from LTE-M) with additional use cases such as security cameras or a private, secure voice/data network for your team, all within the same network and with a single core.
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Quick to deploy and with a Network Management System included
Designed to be as quick to deploy as WiFi routers, end users of freeRAN™ will be able to start a network deployment within a matter of hours, particularly as the lightweight base station can be mounted on existing infrastructure.
End users of freeRAN™ also benefit from the inclusion of Ubiik’s goNMS Network Management Solution for easy configuration and monitoring of their freeRAN™ network. goNMS can either be hosted on-premise or in the cloud to suit the user’s requirements.
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