Success Factors
Connectivity Expertise
When the client’s cellular connectivity failed to meet bandwidth requirements, Metro Wireless did a root cause analysis. They discovered that while they could attain a good signal from the outdoor antenna (and indoor mounted Peplink modem) to the cell tower a mile away, the cell tower itself wasn’t providing adequate bandwidth. They recognized that this is likely due to the high number of users congesting the only available tower in the area.
Via the Peplink modem’s configuration settings, their NOC engineers tested multiple frequencies and bands, including a selection of legacy LTE bands, before determining that the best option for the client was a Starlink with Peplink solution.
This type of troubleshooting and expertise is the reason why business clients and their users look to Metro Wireless as the ‘wireless experts’ in providing their Managed Cellular and Starlink wireless internet solutions.
LTE/5G SIM Data for Failover and Out-of-Band-Management (OOBM)
Along with every Managed Starlink deployment, Metro Wireless includes an LTE/5G SIM card for failover and remote troubleshooting.
This proved vitally important when the Starlink network experienced a 30-minute nationwide outage four weeks after installation. That failover connection was critical for maintaining continuous connectivity during the outage.
The Metro Wireless team also uses that LTE/5G SIM connection to remotely log into the deployment via OOBM to perform troubleshooting for their customers if a Starlink connection goes offline.
Bonding 5G and Starlink(s) Together for Redundancy and Faster Speeds
Another key capability that Metro Wireless has is the ability to bond and aggregate multiple Starlink connections together along with LTE and 5G wireless cellular connections. Starlink does not directly offer the ability to aggregate multiple Starlink dishes for faster speeds, but Metro Wireless can achieve this by leveraging Peplink’s SpeedFusion technology.
Metro Wireless Business Starlink Install Materials Kit
The client chose to take advantage of Metro Wireless’ white glove professional installation to ensure a seamless installation with no risk of building leaks down the road.
As part of any professional installation Metro Wireless performs, they procure all the typical installation materials, such as wiring and mounting kits, pipe mount adapters, Unistrut, NEMA rated enclosures, drill bits and drilling needs, etc. Their white glove process always leads to a clean and polished installation. Internally, the Metro Wireless team calls their lead installer, Mr. Clean!
The Challenge: Robust Connectivity in a Remote Area with Congested Cell Towers
Metro Wireless has a large oil & gas client that uses their Managed LTE/5G Wireless Internet across multiple jobsites and construction sites nationwide. One site presented unique connectivity challenges. This site has three trailers, and the main trailer has a large number of users that required unbreakable connectivity.
Initially, the client set up an LTE/5G wireless internet connection with Peplink 5G router and outdoor directional antenna. Unfortunately, this site is located at a particularly large jobsite in Stanton, Tennessee, where a new manufacturing facility is being built.
That has led to what Metro Wireless refers to as ‘trailer farms,’ with high volumes of users congesting the local cell towers. No matter what the team at Metro Wireless tried — including testing all three of the largest US cellular carriers and professionally installing outdoor directional antennas — it proved impossible to get sufficient throughput for this site with cellular connectivity alone.
The Solution: Bonding the Existing 5G internet with High Performance Starlink
High Performance Starlink Dish with Priority Data Plan
After considering the available options, the customer decided to purchase the new High Performance Starlink Dish and enroll in Metro Wireless’ Managed Starlink service. To ensure sufficient bandwidth, they decided to subscribe to the Priority 1Tb plan. This was the best choice as the site has many users relying on it for their primary internet connection.
Using Peplink to Enhance Starlink with 5G Cellular Connectivity
The client opted to retain their unlimited 5G connection, despite the current bandwidth limitations, since more cell towers and capacity are expected in the area soon. They chose to do so because of three major benefits:
Faster Speeds
Metro Wireless can bond the two connections together using the managed Peplink router’s SpeedFusion capabilities. This can improve total performance and throughput.
Carrier Redundancy
Both connections run through the Peplink’s router’s onboard SD-WAN. If either the Starlink or cellular connection fails, the router will seamlessly switch over to another connection.
Static IPs
Metro Wireless provides a single Static IP Block, including /30, /29, /28, and /24 options, which remain unchanged even if the Starlink or 5G connection have an outage.
The Outcome: Continuous Connectivity, Even During Starlink Outages
The field installer performed the Starlink installation without issue. The team was pleased to rise to the occasion for this valued client’s connectivity needs. Their professional installation led to a clean result with a fast setup to get them the reliable connectivity they required.
While onsite for the Starlink installation, the Metro Wireless team also did a second cellular site study. As a result, they discovered that a new cell tower (from a different carrier) had been installed nearby. Since Metro Wireless is carrier agnostic, they had SIM cards from other carriers on hand. Swapping out the old SIM card for one from the other carrier significantly boosted 5G throughput and reduced 5G latency. This did more than improve overall performance under normal circumstances. It also ensured that the client had a robust failover connection in the event of a Starlink outage.