OptiBond™ Technologies for 5G & 4G Router Bonding, Load balancing and Failover

Construction Site Broadband – What are the Options? Strengths and Weaknesses of potential technologies…

Construction Site Broadband – What are the Options? Strengths and Weaknesses of potential technologies… What are my options for getting Broadband at a new / temporary site? The pros and cons of available technologies

Fixed line – ADSL – leadtime weeks, speed slow (<10Mbit), cost low but getting more difficult to procure as we approach the switching off of the copper network in 2026.

Fixed line – FTTC – leadtime weeks / months. Not universally available. Speed slow (10s of Mbits). Cost low.

Fixed line – FTTP / Leased Line – leadtime months. Speed fast (100Mbit – 10GBit) / SLA possible Cost high particularly if excess construction charges (ECCs) are incurred to deliver fibre to site.

Low Earth Orbit Satellite (LEOS) – leadtime short, speed medium/high (100Mbit), latency an issue when under load, equipment availability, service incomplete resulting in periodic downtime until the satellite network is complete. Requires some setting up and alignment. 100 degree view of the northern sky. Obstructions (eg trees and buildings) will impact service. Cost medium.

4G/5G – leadtime very short, speed – medium / high (10s – 100s Mbits), equipment widely available, cost medium/low, four public mobile networks ensure very wide availability of coverage. Routers supporting bonding and load balancing over multiple mobile and other services provide enhanced performance and resilience. Easy to set up. Generally tolerant of obstructions. What are my options if my existing (fixed line) Broadband service fails?

Low Earth Orbit Satellite (LEOS) – leadtime short, speed medium/high (100Mbit), latency an issue when under load, equipment availability, service incomplete resulting in periodic downtime until the satellite network is complete. Requires some setting up and alignment. 100 degree view of the northern sky. Obstructions (eg trees and buildings) will impact service. Cost medium.

4G/5G – leadtime very short, speed – medium / high (10s – 100s Mbits), equipment widely available, cost medium/low, four public mobile networks ensure very wide availability of coverage. Routers supporting bonding and load balancing over multiple mobile and other services provide enhanced performance and resilience. Easy to set up. Generally tolerant of obstructions. What are my options for mobile & marine use?

Low Earth Orbit Satellite (LEOS) – leadtime short, speed medium/high (100Mbit), latency an issue when under load, equipment availability, service incomplete resulting in periodic downtime until the satellite network is complete. Requires some setting up and alignment at each location 100 degree view of the northern sky. Not suitable for use when on the move. Obstructions (eg trees and buildings) will impact service. Cost medium.

4G/5G – leadtime very short, speed – medium / high (10s – 100s Mbits), equipment widely available, cost medium/low, four public mobile networks ensure very wide availability of coverage. Routers supporting bonding and load balancing over multiple mobile and other services provide enhanced performance and resilience. Easy to set up. Generally tolerant of obstructions.  Marine use limited to inshore waters for reasons of mobile network coverage.  

What is the i-MO Optibond i-MO 225 Router?

The i-MO 225 is a new Router from Electronic Media Services designed to offer instant broadband using a combination of diverse 5G/4G cellular and WAN services. The appliance includes two integrated 5G modems (with downward compatibility to 4G and 3G) plus one WAN port to allow for use of a fixed line, satellite or venue Wi-Fi service. The i-MO 225 supports the true aggregation (bonding) of bearers to deliver enhanced bandwidth, enhanced resilience and seamless connectivity. Alternative modes which are supported include load balancing over available links or failover from one service to another eg fixed line to bonded cellular or vice versa.  5G capabilities include all UK public mobile network bands plus the so called N77 “High” band used for private 5G networks operated by independents, corporates and other institutions. Theoretical download speeds in excess of 1Gbps.  

What about Service Level (SLA).

 Leased Lines often come with an uptime SLA. These are however typically subject to terms and conditions and won’t be helpful where fibre is as an example cut or otherwise damaged on a construction sites. The public mobile cellular networks do not offer SLA based services; however the i-MO 225 delivers capabilities which mitigate the risk of downtime very greatly eg concurrent use of diverse mobile networks plus other services where available (fixed line, satellite, venue wi-fi etc). Such diversity is a near guarantee of both performance and resilient seamless connectivity.

What about site setup?

The i-MO 225 can be delivered as a “plug and play” solution – pre-configured, with suitable mobile network SIMs, aerials designed for outdoor use, power supply and guide. Arrange your aerials, switch on and connect!

Is the i-MO 225 available to order now?

You can order your i-MO 225 today! Deliveries will commence during February 2022. Typical leadtimes once available will be 3 - 4 working days from receipt of order (fully pre-configured to meet your agreed service requirements).

How much?

Much less than a typical FTTP/ Leased Line! Contact us for latest pricing – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   / Tel. 01428 752034 Conclusion: Bonding 5G & 4G cellular services and combining these with other WAN links where available will meet most user requirements most of the time. The i-MO 225 delivers fast, resilient connectivity quickly and at modest cost.