Wireless vs Wired Broadband Networks: Advantages of Tekniam's New RUCS

Tekniam's Remote Universal Communication System (RUCS) is a groundbreaking piece of technology that has proven beneficial for First Responders, rural education, coastal communities, military operations, and beyond. This lightweight, portable device weighs only 5 lbs (2.27 kg) and can transmit a powerful broadband Internet signal to 250+ users within a 1000ft radius by utilizing satellite, cellular, and/or fiber connections.

The wireless signal can be extended using additional units, all while maintaining extremely low power consumption and minimal signal degradation between hops. This makes the RUCS perfect for off-grid rural communities, disaster response efforts, and defense operations. Wireless broadband networks, such as the RUCS, offer significant advantages over wired networks, including enhanced mobility for users, cost-effectiveness, rapid installation, and scalability.

Mobility

​

Wireless networks offer unparalleled freedom compared to wired networks, eliminating the need to be tied to a physical outlet and specific location. Users enjoy the flexibility to move anywhere within the wireless signal's service area, a convenience that wired networks cannot match. Wired networks also limit the number of users by the number of available outlets, whereas wireless networks provide extensive coverage without such constraints.

Additionally, wireless networks can reach places where laying cables would be inconvenient or impossible, such as through walls or concrete, which may not be allowed in rental properties.

Ease and Rapid Pace of Installation

Setting up a wireless broadband network is significantly easier and faster than installing fiber cables. Wireless networks bypass the need for expensive hardware and complex installation processes. In contrast, wired networks involve costs for permitting, trenching, and purchasing fiber, hardware, and switches necessary to connect each outlet for every user.

This substantial capital investment requires nearly 100% adoption rates in sparsely populated areas or supplemental government funding. Service providers often take years to recover these network costs, leading to significant delays in bringing internet access to users worldwide.

Permitting and Trenching

With the construction of a wired network, the process of obtaining permits before beginning any physical work can be lengthy and unpredictable, often fraught with unforeseen obstacles. In rural areas, trenching can cost around $15 per foot, while in urban areas, the cost can soar to $65 per foot, leading to significant variability in fiber installation expenses.

Even in typical neighborhoods, trenching 100 feet from the street to the doorstep can result in substantial costs, often around $35 per foot. Each stage of the trenching and delivery process incurs significant expenses, requiring many years of service to recover these costs.

Moreover, the process involves continuous supply chain acquisitions, shipments, and storage during construction. Hiring a licensed engineering firm and crew for the installation adds another layer of expense, further complicating and limiting the deployment of wired networks.

​

Rapid Wireless Set-up Compared to Fiber

Such as experienced with Tekniam's RUCS, setting up a wireless broadband network offers significant time and cost savings compared to fiber installation.

With no trench digging necessary, RUCS devices are simply lined from a starting point of satellite, cellular, or fiber connectivity to the desired locations in need of Internet connectivity. Whether you need to reach a mountaintop or a valley, the initial signal can be wirelessly repeated with additional units, providing coverage exactly where you need it.

Able to be mounted on existing structures, RUCS units are quick to install and cause minimal interference with nature and other operations. In contrast, installing fiber requires digging, obtaining permits, and navigating various permissions, often taking weeks or months to cover the same distance achievable by wireless in just an afternoon.

Wireless networks are not only faster and more cost-effective to install, but they also deliver comparable speeds. Tekniam's RUCS offers a minimum speed of about 1 Gbps. For permanent installations in remote communities and locations, wireless is a far more time-efficient and cost-effective solution.

Cost Comparisons of Wireless vs Fiber

To illustrate the range of costs for different types of installations, consider two examples:

​

1. In an East African developing country, Tekniam has determined that a large installation would cost only five percent of what it would take to connect the country with fiber. The RUCS system can be set up in just a couple of months, compared to the ten years it would take to install fiber. This represents a low-cost scenario for such installations.

2.  In a community located in wooded areas with narrow, winding roads, where connections are made in quarter to half-mile hops between units, and homes are relatively close together, Tekniam’s RUCS system may cost about a quarter to half of what fiber installation would cost.

 

Overall, across various installations Tekniam has evaluated, the RUCS wireless broadband network consistently costs about a quarter of what fiber installation would. This average holds true for comparisons of RUCS wireless networks and fiber installations worldwide.

Relative Simplicity of Wireless Installation

​

Tekniam begins with the engineering plan, which is the most time-consuming part of the process. The actual deployment is relatively quick and straightforward, involving driving around and installing the RUCS units. If there's existing power, you simply connect the units to it.

In many cases, because each hop requires very little power—only a maximum of 10 watts and an average of 8 watts—you can connect the RUCS units to solar panels. Alternatively, if they are placed on power poles, they can be connected to the existing power supply with a small transformer.

This ease of setup allows the signal to be extended over tens of miles or kilometers per day, as opposed to the slow process of trenching a few feet or meters per day, which can take weeks or months.

Major Technological Improvements over Point-to-Point Wireless Radio Phones of the Past

Many people have a negative perception of "wireless" because they associate it with point-to-point wireless radios, which essentially function like cell towers. These radios transmit Wi-Fi or similar signals to a receiving box at the home, but typically offer slow speeds, often around 10 to 30 megabits per second. Despite claims of higher speeds, real-world testing often shows otherwise.

With these speeds, you might be able to stream two or three high-definition Netflix videos simultaneously, but not much more. A family of five can't each stream content in separate rooms, and activities like doing homework on Zoom while someone else watches TV in another room would be problematic.

Another major issue with point-to-point radio Wi-Fi is its susceptibility to interference from rain and other liquids. Heavy rain or snowstorms can disrupt the signal, especially for those not close to the tower. Moisture, including fog, rain, or snow, absorbs radio frequencies effectively, causing significant issues. This makes point-to-point wireless networks unreliable and unable to maintain fast speeds in adverse weather conditions.

Tekniam’s RUCS is Breakthrough Technology
 

RUCS avoids these issues because Tekniam uses tight beam technology for its point-to-point connections. This breakthrough technology, enhanced by proprietary software, minimizes packet loss**. With RUCS, short jumps are made, and the signal is boosted and redirected at each step, resulting in very minimal speed loss and latency of only a few milliseconds.

Thanks to these advancements, Tekniam’s RUCS is resilient to moisture and adverse weather conditions, maintaining high-speed performance. The base backhaul speed for RUCS is 1 Gigabit, with the capability to increase based on customer needs.

Problems with Permitting and Towers
 

​Towers are a significant concern for many, as Tekniam recently discovered with a tribal government that opposed large towers on their land. They preferred Tekniam’s technology, which uses many small, easily concealable towers instead of one large, obtrusive one. The RUCS units, about the size of a medium pizza box, can be painted any color to blend in seamlessly with their surroundings without affecting the signal. This offers a major advantage by keeping installations small, discreet, and professional-looking.

Large towers are not only visually unappealing but also expensive and often beyond the budgets of many developing countries. This is why Tekniam’s RUCS is ideal for providing last-mile Internet in these regions, where low-cost and rapid deployment can significantly impact the local economy.

One example is "TURK work," where companies such as Amazon, outsource quality control tasks to workers globally. For instance, a worker might be paid a few cents to verify if tools are correctly placed in a photo, a task a computer might struggle with. This kind of work represents a dramatic new economic opportunity for developing nations, enabled by low-cost wireless broadband connectivity provided by Tekniam’s RUCS, without the need for substantial investments in large towers or extensive cabling.

Scalability: Ease of Set up Also Makes it Easy to Disassemble

 

Another benefit of Tekniam’s RUCS is its remarkable flexibility, serving as a temporary, permanent, or even hybrid solution. Easy to set up, the RUCS can act as a temporary solution to address an immediate connectivity need, then be reconfigured for use elsewhere, or installed as a permanent solution.

Wireless broadband networks offer greater scalability compared to wired networks. They can easily expand their coverage area by adding more distribution modules to accommodate additional users. This flexibility is crucial in environments with fluctuating user numbers or growth that requires scalable solutions.

Moreover, since some areas may not be adequately served at all times, you can extend your network to cover the fringes of your community as fiber is gradually installed. This hybrid approach, combining wireless and wired networks, allows for a dynamic and adaptable solution that grows and evolves with your needs.

Wireless Broadband Networks Have Never Been Easier

 

Tekniam's RUCS is a revolutionary advancement in wireless broadband networks, featuring a fast and easy-to-set-up device that can broadcast a powerful broadband signal several miles in just minutes. The RUCS signals can be repeated between units, extending coverage 1000-ft from one unit and supporting up to 250 users at a single distribution point.

Weighing only 5 lbs (2.27 kg) and with an extremely low power draw, the RUCS is ideal for off-grid, last-mile rural internet, emergency internet for disaster response, and military applications.

Tekniam's RUCS delivers wireless broadband connectivity at a fraction of the cost and time of wired networks. Wireless broadband networks offer unparalleled speed of deployment, flexibility, and the freedom of access without being tethered to a wired physical connection.