Starlink back-haul for micro mobile base-stations, Australia

With the advent of LEO (Low Earth Orbit) low-latency, low cost/GB satellite networks,

it's possible for remote communities and large cattle stations & agricultural enterprises and mines to afford their own micro base-stations, either 5G or WiFi.

There's electronically not a large difference between 5G micro base-stations & beam-forming WiFi access points.

I've not researched the cost of 5G micro base-stations:

the costs are dominated by the Remote Area Power & Starlink terminal.

A single Starlink terminal can serve multiple base-stations using off-the-shelf Ruckus WiFi basestations [ $1,500 vs $3.5k Starlink terminal ] in a Mesh, if they have reasonable line-of-sight access.
Directional aerials for the Mesh basestation would give better backhaul / mesh connectivity.

Bulk purchase, assembly, site construction, deployment & commissioning will yield discounts and economies of scale.

Smart design, such as running along fences or in pipes, Optical Fibre ethernet interconnects for access points, will yield further cost reductions.

For larger sites, the Starlink terminal and the central WiFi access point, could be run off an existing remote area power supply, a considerable saving.

Ruckus is just one of Enterprise Grade beamforming, managed WiFi access points available, they are used by way of example only, not as a recommendation.

[ See Ubiquiti link ]

Thu 31 Oct 2024 14:39:31 AEDT

• Construction, Install, Acceptance & Commissioning [ $750 @ $100/hr ]
• 2 person team, 1/2 day [ 2 sites / day ]
• Monitoring, Control, Back-end router Software ( buy + rental )
• shared backend cost [ ~$500, guess/ Monthly s'ware rental ? ]
• NOC (Network Operations Centre)
• shared backend cost [ no guesstimate ]
• Simple Mast, mountings, aerials, cabling & equipment enclosure [ $2.5k, guess ]
• Power supply [ Total: ~$12.5k ]
• 2 kW Solar panels [ ~$5k, installed, with small inverter ]
• 48V Battery, 10 kW-hr [ ~$5k, guess]
• Battery Management System [ $1k guess ]
• 48V-240V inverter [ included with Solar Panels ]
• 240V 48V charger [ $1.5k: on-demand mobile generator attached. rent or share ]
• Base Station [ $3,500 High Perf terminal ]
• Starlink ( buy + rental ) [ Total: ~$4k + $140/mth ]
• Antenna [ ~$3,750 ]
• Monthly contract [ ~$140/mth (domestic) ]
• Local Switch (?) [ ~$100 ]

Total: ~$25k + $150/mth + shared management & NOC

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Beamforming
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamforming

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[ Comparison unit ]

Ubiquiti 1500 Client Capacity 10 Gbps Beam-forming Ip67 Wi-fi Basestation Uwb-xg
    A$2,615.00
    https://www.i-tech.com.au/ubiquiti1500-client-capacity-10-gbps-beam-forming-ip67-wi-fi-basestation-uwb-xg.html

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Advantages of BeamFlex over Transmit Beamforming (TxBF)

    https://support.ruckuswireless.com/articles/000003942

Beamforming in 802.11ac is a radio based technology. Whereas BeamFlex engages adaptive antennas so this is an antenna based technology.

What Ruckus does is use beamforming (which is radio based) and combines it with adaptive antennas (BeamFlex which antenna based) to maximize the performance.

Other advantages include:

    1. BeamFlex is not client dependent. It can work with any 802.11 standard client. Whereas beamforming requires a 802.11ac client. Just to add, not all 802.11ac standard clients come with TxBF built-in.

    2. Spatial multiplexing with TxBF will use one of its chains just to send same data. So TxBF will waste one of two chains just to provide redundancy.

    3. BeamFlex is more accurate in reaching the destination. This will cause less interference to neighbors and also maximize performance.

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RUCKUS T750 Outdoor Access Point [ product page ]
Very High-Performance Wi-Fi 6 4x4:4 Outdoor Access Point with 3.5 Gbps max rate
    https://www.ruckusnetworks.com/products/wireless-access-points/t750/

    A$3,500
    https://www.lwt.com.au/Product/RUC4416907/901-T750-WW01/Ruckus-T750-Outdoor-Access-Point-Very-High-Performance-Wi-Fi-6-4x44-Outdoor-Access-Point-with-35-Gbps-max-rate

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RUCKUS T350 Outdoor Access Point [ product page ]
    https://www.ruckusnetworks.com/products/wireless-access-points/t350/

RUCKUS T350E 11AX OUTDOOR AP 2X2:2
   A$1,498
    https://www.lwt.com.au/Product/RUC5179747/901-T350-WW51/RUCKUS-T350E-11AX-OUTDOOR-AP-2X22-

Ruckus T350 Omni, outdoor wireless access point
    A$1,133
    https://www.lwt.com.au/Product/RUC4448802/901-T350-WW20/Ruckus-T350-Omni-outdoor-wireless-access-point-2x22-Wi-Fi-6-BeamFlex-dual-band-concurrent-40C-to-65C-Temperature-POE-ONLY-Includes-mounting-bracket-and-one-year-warranty

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802.11ac wireless: Channel Bonding, MIMO, Spatial Streams, and Beamforming
    https://www.sourceonetechnology.com/802-11ac-wireless-channel-bonding-mimo-spatial-streams-and-beamforming/

    Explanation of 2×2:2, 3×3:3

    Lets take one of these apart to understand what each number represents.

    For instance 2x2:2,

• the first 2 represents TX (Sending Antenna),
• the second 2 represents Rx (Receiving Antenna),
• and the last 2 represents spatial streams in this means that it's capable of handling two spatial streams.

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Starlink

Business
    https://www.starlink.com/au/service-plans/business

Flat High Performance
    https://www.starlink.com/specifications?spec=3

Starlink Australia, summary on Finder
    https://www.finder.com.au/broadband-plans/starlink#

    Starlink is giving other satellite internet options in Australia a run for their money. However, you'll need to be prepared to spend at least $139 a month on plan fees.

    Mariam Gabaji
    26 Mar 2024

How much does Starlink cost in Australia?

Residential Starlink plans in Australia cost $139 per month for unlimited data.

However, you'll need to buy or rent hardware to access the services.

Your options include:

    Paying $599 upfront or $299 for refurbished hardware
    Renting the hardware for $19 a month

Officeworks
    https://www.officeworks.com.au/brands/starlink

Shop Starlink
    Experience connectivity from the most remote corners of the globe with Starlink.

    Powered by satellites orbiting the Earth, Starlink provides broadband internet,
    improving your streaming, gaming, video calls, and more.

    Experience faster satellite internet from SpaceX.

~A$3,750 for Flat High Performance 'Kit'

~A$600 for standard Kit

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