Wireless Internet service provider (WISP) HeroTel has chosen the ePMP Elevate solution from wireless broadband solutions provider Cambium Networks to improve network performance and enable scalability.
HeroTel is one of the largest WISPs in South Africa, with more than 1 800 sites and over 40 000 clients for “last-mile” Internet service.
“What really excites me about our partnership with Cambium Networks is that we are able to dramatically improve the quality of experience for our customers, while at the same time improving our own ROI,” says Corné de Villiers, HeroTel’s CEO.
“Demand for TV streaming services like Netflix and Showmax has recently exploded in South Africa,” says Rich Henn, chief commercial officer at HeroTel. “Traditional last-mile mediums like copper can’t keep up, and fiber is limited to deployment in isolated pockets.
“With Cambium Networks’ solutions we are able to deliver high-speed wireless services to all of our clients, regardless of whether they are located in urban or rural areas.”
“Cambium Networks provides a wireless fabric of end-to-end connectivity solutions,” says Martin de la Serna, Vice President of Sales for Cambium Networks. “HeroTel has deployed our point-to-point licensed microwave backhaul solutions, PMP 450m wireless distribution networks, cnPilot 802.11ac WiFi access solutions, and is now extending connectivity and coverage with ePMP Elevate and cnMaestro end-to-end management.”
“ePMP Elevate interoperates with previously installed customer premise equipment (CPE) by changing the Access Point at the head end and applying an over-the-air firmware upgrade to the CPE,” says Sakid Ahmed, vice-president of ePMP Business. “The ePMP 2000 Access Point brings key technologies such as GPS Synchronization, frequency re-use, intelligent filtering, air fairness scheduling, and smart beamforming to an existing 802.11n-based network. This completely transforms network performance.”
HeroTel employed an intensive selection process before shortlisting four vendors and ultimately choosing Cambium Networks’ ePMP Elevate solution. This included attending international conferences and trade shows, extensive field and lab tests to ensure compliance with South Africa’s harsh conditions, and meeting ROI financial objectives.
“Cambium Networks has really delivered on their promises,” comments James Devine, head of HeroTel Networks. “Our field testing is showing excellent results. The throughput and density per sector are better than what we thought we might achieve, and their solution manages the interference beautifully.”
“Our field testing has returned impressive results,” adds Gerrit Pretorius, Regional Head of RF Planning and Spectrum Management at HeroTel East. “We are able to load more than three times the number of client devices onto the Cambium Networks ePMP 2000 sectors, while achieving in excess of three and a half times the throughput speed on the client side. This solution will enable us to offer 50 Mbps+ services to our clients – which is exactly what company executives are requesting from our engineering team.”