The operational knowhow that comes from being involved in the deployment of more than 10,000 networks is an attribute of Cambium Networks of which I am most proud. This institutional knowledge permeates many aspects of what we do; cables, power supplies, antennae designs, nuances of connectors, spacing on a radio to allow for winterizing or simply the ease of installation we strive for with each new device.
An example I recall is the decision to place a 3.5mm jack on PMP 450b SMs to facilitate listening to alignment tones without having to make your own RF12 jack. There has been a long list of these types of hardware innovations at Cambium Networks over the last decade. More recently however, software innovations and tools, which also provide great help operationally, have become even more prominent.
Cambium Networks’ cnArcher™, a free mobile app that allows field technicians to configure and align PMP and ePMP SMs, significantly accelerates installation. LINKPlanner™ allows technicians to model scenarios based on geography, distance, antenna height, transmit height and other factors; this free, industry-leading tool continues to be trusted and user-friendly when planning a link.
I believe that cnHeat may be the most exciting and impactful of Cambium Networks’ operational innovations to date. The tool, which generates highly accurate predictions that represent the reality of the RF world, is built upon that Cambium Networks’ RF operations expertise as seen in LINKPlanner. cnHeat addresses the challenge of finding out which homes can be served from a specific tower, right down to the mailing addresses. With cnHeat, there is no more driving around to discover your target customers; it can be done right from your desktop with cnHeat IDENTIFY.
cnHeat IDENTIFY detects the buildings where RF coverage can be realized at a desired, or better, RSSI signal level with latitude, longitude and street addresses. These categories can be used to enable targeted marketing, so wireless internet service providers (WISP) can avoid misleading prospective customers who cannot be served. This also prevents WISPs from wasting time and money on unnecessary truck rolls. Imagine that: more revenue through more effective marketing coupled with cost savings on the marketing itself and on the installation costs; clearly a compelling combination of benefits.
Check out how Skynet, a Texas-based WISP and ePMP customer, utilized cnHeat to improve customer satisfaction and prevent costly truck rolls. Read the case study here. Thank you to Shahan Warsi, IT Director at Skynet, for sharing these results.
“It’s just good knowledge to have where you can get the best possible signal. There are locations with okay signal, better signal and the best signal. Naturally, the objective for any WISP is to install in the best location possible, resulting in better performance for the individual and overall sector throughput.”
- SHAHAN WARSI, IT DIRECTOR, SKYNET
To learn more about cnHeat IDENTIFY, check out this solution paper. You will find examples on how to calculate the value of cnHeat IDENTIFY for your sites, marketing best practices and how net new customers will add revenue.
We recently announced a cnHeat IDENTIFY promotion at WISPAPALOOZA. The first 100 service providers to purchase four 450m, 450i APs or ePMP 3000 from October 14 through December 20 will receive a free one-year subscription to cnHeat LOCATE and up to 500 addresses for cnHeat IDENTIFY. Read the Community post detailing the terms of the promotion.
If you have ideas for ways Cambium Networks might help with operational improvements, drop me a note at bryan.sheppeck@cambiumnetworks.com.