Future-proof design makes empowered 5G FWA an excellent enterprise solution

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Darren Morgan, Chief Operating Officer, Comsol Networks.

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For businesses that rely on connectivity to mission-critical systems, multiple links and the quality of those links are important considerations.

Darren Morgan, chief operating officer of Comsol Networks, said fiber optics alone are not enough to maintain business connections.

“The fiber network is in trouble due to theft, vandalism, cable cuts, and load shedding. It’s also one of our biggest headaches because it affects our backhaul. For redundancy, you need multiple links, but you can’t Just add three fiber links because it’s too expensive,” he said.

This drives the need for wireless as a backup to fiber connections. However, he said businesses that use LTE, unlicensed wireless networks or consumer 5G for backup may experience poor quality, unreliable connections.

“Globally, fixed wireless – especially licensed fixed wireless – is becoming a more reliable option than fiber, which is why it’s preferred for redundancy. For example, the New York borough of Manhattan has the highest last-mile wireless density, although it also has the highest fiber density because people know you need a fiber optic cable and provide redundancy in a wireless form.

Comsol’s new licensed 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solution is designed to provide redundancy for large enterprises and as an enterprise-grade primary connection for small and medium-sized enterprises. The new 5G FWA solution is built on the trustworthy Comsol network and uses outdoor terminal equipment to achieve more reliable business connections.

Morgan said many organizations are leveraging SD-WAN to improve and manage connectivity. “We ourselves are big supporters of SD-WAN. But the problem is that some people see it as a “magic box” for solving connectivity problems. No SD-WAN can fix bad links. You need the right links in an SD-WAN solution . 5G provides the most reliable and cost-effective alternative link with lower latency and better upload capabilities than LTE, so in addition to fixed wireless enterprise links and a fiber link, 5G is also an SD-WAN ideal choice.

Morgan said Comsol set out from the outset to design and build the most reliable enterprise-grade network possible, taking into account South Africa’s infrastructure challenges.

When we built our high-capacity 28GHz network in 2016, we over-engineered the network for performance and reliability. “Because it’s not designed for consumer service, there’s no controversy. We’re not going to overload those networks – if we feel our network is stretching too far, we’ll overlay a new sector on it , so that our services remain unified and users enjoy a better experience.

The Comsol network is designed for resiliency, with dual-core routers and fiber backhaul redundancy. “Depending on the site, we might have one fiber and one microwave connection, or dual fiber through different operators, and where possible those fibers are also terminated in different areas,” Morgan said.

“We have also designed base stations with very low power consumption, using smaller form factors and smaller cabinets to allow for air flow for cooling. Our newer 5G network is overlaid on existing sites, which increases power consumption, we met this requirement without significant changes. With low energy consumption and a large electrical backup system, load shedding made no sense to us.

Comsol Networks base stations are designed to handle 24-hour network outages before generators are required.