Late last week, Ubiquiti unveiled its all new Wave line of PtMP devices, aimed squarely at the WISP market. As demand for internet bandwidth increases, current 5GHz technology can only go so far, especially for offering 1Gbps+ services to customers. Ubiquiti currently has airMAX AC and the newer LTU line, both operating on the 5GHz spectrum. This is quickly becoming more crowded every day. Also with 5GHz, the maximum throughput for each client is around 100-200mbps, when used in a fairly dense PtMP environment.
This is where Wave comes in. For a while, Ubiquiti has offered 60GHz solutions, with the UBB PtP for UniFi installs, the GigaBeam PtP products and then at the top of the tree is the airFiber 60GHz line, for dedicated multi-gigabit, long range PtP backhaul. Wave takes this concept and pushes it out for a PtMP deployment, with a coverage of many kilometres.
Ubiquiti has announced a decent sized product line, with the three access point solutions and three different CPE devices, which can be used as stations. Currently, none of the Wave line is available yet, Ubiquiti says it’ll be coming to the EA store soon.
Wave AP
First on the list is the Wave AP, which can be used in a single or triple configuration, for added capacity and coverage area. With three APs linked together, it can cover a 90° area, with a capacity of 16.2Gbps, connecting up to 45 clients.
The Wave AP has integrated GPS and a 5GHz failover system, as 60GHz can experience rain fade in extreme weather circumstances.
Wave AP Micro
The Wave AP Micro can cover a 90° area, with up to 3km range for local built up areas. It looks to have a smaller footprint too.
Wave AP Mesh
The Wave AP Mesh has a 360° coverage area, with up to 5.4Gbps capacity and can wirelessly mesh with other devices to extend the coverage area even further.
Station Devices
For the CPE devices, Ubiquiti has three offerings, the Nano, Long Range and the Professional. For the Nano, the form factor looks very similar to the existing NanoBeam devices from the airMAX AC line, it can do up to 1Gbps over a 5km range. The Long Range model also offers 1Gbps capacity, but up to 8km range, then the Professional has an SFP+ port can can handle up to 2.7Gbps over 8km.
Like all of Ubiquiti’s ISP and MSP products, they are managed by the UISP controller and mobile app. Currently, none of the Wave line is available yet, Ubiquiti says it’ll be coming to the EA store soon.
