Possible ways of creating a wide area network

Question

crazyvonzipper 0 Newbie Poster

6 Years Ago

Hi Guys.

We are seeking to create a wireless wide area network in an area that is saturated in wireless ubiquiti antennas. We have tried our own ubiquity antennas and have discovered that there is way too much noise in the area for the equipment to function properly.

The areas that need to be connected are approximately 4km apart.

What are the possible options for connecting these two locations in a way that would be robust enought to handle VOIP phones ?

wifi

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Latest Post 6 Years Ago Latest Post by rproffitt

Dani AI

Generated 9 Months Ago

Short expert summary and practical next steps tied to the thread (references at the end).

described a 4 km span inside a RF-saturated area where Ubiquiti gear struggles; ’s suggestion to “over‑design” and use a professional installer is sound. VoIP needs both bandwidth and low delay/jitter — plan capacity for roughly 80–200 kbps per concurrent G.711 call and keep one‑way latency well under ~150 ms with low packet loss and jitter. (Cisco).
(https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/cust_contact/contact_center/crs/express_12_5/design/guide/html/index/Bandwidth-Latency-and-QoS-Considerations-for-Unified-CCX-for-Release-12-5-1.html)

Practical options (tradeoffs):

Millimeter‑wave PtP (60/70/80 GHz): very narrow beams and huge capacity, so it avoids congested Wi‑Fi spectrum — often the best choice where the air is noisy. Requires strict LOS and alignment and must include fade margin for weather. (Siklu/Ceragon).
(https://www.ceragon.com/products/siklu-by-ceragon-0)
Licensed microwave (6–42 GHz): carrier‑grade reliability and spectrum coordination (Part 101); higher uptime and predictable interference environment but needs frequency coordination and professional planning. (FCC / Cambium PTP examples).
(https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/101.147)
(https://www.cambiumnetworks.com/resource/ptp-820-network-management-system/)
Fiber / leased circuit: most robust and future‑proof when available; recommend where budgets and right‑of‑way permit. (Fiber Broadband Association).
(https://fiberbroadband.org/2025/03/28/documenting-the-economic-benefits-of-fiber-in-2024/)
Carefully planned 5 GHz PtP: cheapest, but in a saturated Ubiquiti area this often fails unless a spectrum sweep shows a usable, low‑noise channel.

Actionable checklist (apply before buying gear):

Run an RF site/spectrum survey (Wi‑Spy/Chanalyzer or a handheld tester like AirCheck) to measure noise floor and find any clean channels. (MetaGeek, NetAlly).
(https://support.metageek.com/hc/en-us/articles/205050684-Is-Chanalyzer-a-Site-Survey-Tool)
(https://www.netally.com/products/aircheck/)
Confirm LOS + Fresnel‑zone clearance and compute link budget including rain/fade margin. Use vendor link calculators and a microwave design guide for parameter selection. (Microwave link design).
(https://studylib.net/doc/27767822/how-to-design-a-microwave-link)
Design for VoIP: reserve QoS, overprovision bandwidth, and test with simultaneous call bursts (simulate worst case). (Cisco reference above.)
If selecting mmWave or licensed microwave, engage a local certified installer for alignment, frequency coordination, and mounting — this avoids the common DIY failures noted by .

Bottom line: in a congested unlicensed environment at ~4 km, a millimeter‑wave E‑band PtP or a licensed microwave link (or fiber if feasible) gives the most reliable VoIP-capable result; start with a spectrum survey and LOS/link‑budget study and budget for a pro install.

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rproffitt 3,249 https://5calls.org Team Colleague · Answer 1 · 2019-10-04T15:36:05+00:00

I take it you did your research and now realize 2.4GHz links are impractical and noted widely such as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-range_Wi-Fi

Since you want ROBUST then you must over design the link to be something for 10 to 20 KM distances.

Since this is an area of OVERCHOICE, you need to talk to the makers about possible solutions like but once in a while I'll see a client that has no IT staff or networking skills trying to install this. They fail everytime. For those folk, get it done by a local networking company or even Cisco.