Thank you for the opportunity to help with the Little Bird Holdings 200 Unit Mesh Network Project.
As specified by Little Bird Holdings, they have quite a few apartment complexes that are upgrading with smart home technology. They also have quite a few complexes that are older and getting fiber to them is not possible.
Ideally, they would like to know the pricing models we use as the primary internet. Ideally, we bring in a solution and include it in the rent. And if we can use it for all our 4g Smart Home devices that would be amazing as well. Ideally it would it would be fully meshed.
To build a mesh network for 200 devices, you’ll need a powerful gateway, multiple mesh nodes, and potentially additional switches or access points.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
Gateway/Router:
This is the central hub for managing routing, firewalling, and security for your network. This access gateway manages a public Internet service for a 200-home community that requires high performance. There is no user limit and it supports any type of wireless access point configured in bridge mode. There are four WAN ports with load balance and fail-over and two LAN ports.
Features include multiple login modes, voucher printing, and Paypal credit card billing. A free cloud account is available for remote management and failure monitoring.
Depending on the topography and specifications of the 4g Smart Home gear, We have several models available that retail in the 2,500 dollar range.
Mesh Nodes:
These are the devices that relay and broadcast the Wi-Fi signal, extending coverage and allowing devices to connect. Choose nodes with sufficient processing power and Wi-Fi capabilities. These can be outdoors or indoors, can be solar powered, they can be remotely managed with a cloud application. We have several options in the 50 dollar range and you will need one at each location.
Switches :
If you need wired connections for certain devices, a switch with PoE capabilities can be useful, especially for access points. We can include some switching here depending on the Smart City Gear load. We have several devices in the 100 dollar range, we may need 4 or 5.
Access Points:
These devices can LTE Broadband routers to be used in conjunction with mesh nodes to increase wireless coverage in specific areas. 1271 from 100 Zero keep this Community always connected. You will probably need 20.
Network Architecture:
A single gateway manages the entire network, and mesh nodes are connected to it. This is simpler to manage but may have limitations in scalability for very large networks.
Bandwidth:
Ensure your internet connection and network infrastructure can handle the load of 200+ devices.
- Bandwidth Required: 2840Mb/s Number of Users: 400
- Fiber at one location feeds the network
- Air Fiber is available
- LTE 5 Network Bandwidth Backup keeps the community connected.
Setup Process:
- Connect the gateway.
- Add mesh nodes and configure them using the mesh system’s app or software.
- Connect devices to the mesh network.
- Troubleshoot any connectivity issues by repositioning nodes.
I hope that helps with the pricing models for Mesh for a community like the documentation provided. Please let me know if you have any questions.
This is still wifi 6 not true mesh. We could also do a Justin solution here, which would provide WIFI 7 mesh 1,000 nodes of internet free. Let me know if I need to break that down.
Thanks
Michael