After watching this video by Dr. Harald Karcher, Dr Andre Fourie, CEO of POYNTING Antennas, wanted to highlight why this video just proves again that outdoor antennas should be mandatory when using 4G/5G in fixed (indoor) locations. The following from Andre:
In the video, Dr. Karcher provided one of the best-described and well-performed sets of measurements to support this argument. Internet speeds are improved by 4-5 times, allowing operators to accommodate 4-5 times more subscribers on a tower when equipped with outdoor antennas. This translates to 4-5 times more revenue when capacity becomes a constraint, which almost always happens in urban areas.
Andre notes that providing subscribers with installations and antennas is almost 10 times cheaper for operators than improving their base station networks. Thus, operators should consider the automatic provision of subscribers with external antennas as more effective “capex” spend, as the savings outweigh these costs by a large margin.
In this case, the speed increases up and down were 10 times, and the distance between the location and base station was 300m. However, many operators supply antennas only in areas further removed, which is unwise in terms of their own capacity interests and customer experience with wireless internet speed. Dr. Fourie emphasized that quality of connectivity is typically much more consistent with outdoor antennas compared to indoor. This is because movements indoor causes rapid fluctuations in indoor signals, making internet performance unpredictable.
It is important to note that the #POYNTING XPOL-1 antenna, which provided the largest performance benefit in these tests, can be mounted against a window using “suckers” provided. As long as the window is not metal coated, the XPOL-1 can be mounted on either the inside or outside of the window, making installation simple for users. It is essential to choose a window that faces some nearby towers, which can be easily identified by using a phone and looking at signal bars close to available windows.
Examples of the difference outdoor antenna makes:
