canopy antenna

Motorola Canopy

Type of signal:	LOS (line-of-sight Line-of-sight propagation Line-of-sight propagation refers to electro-magnetic radiation including light emissions traveling in a straight line. The rays or waves are diffracted, refracted, reflected, or absorbed by atmosphere and obstructions with material and generally cannot travel over the horizon or behind obstacles.... ), NLOS
Maximum range (miles)	120 miles PtMP Point-to-multipoint For general information for point-to-multipoint communication, refer to Link #Point-to-multipoint.Point-to-multipoint communication is a term that is used in the telecommunications field which refers to communication which is accomplished via a specific and distinct type of multipoint connection, providing multiple paths from a single locat... , 155 miles PtP Point-to-point Point-to-point may refer to:* Point-to-point construction, an electronics assembly technique* Network_topology#Point-to-point* Point-to-Point Protocol , part of the Internet protocol suite...
Minimum range:	500 m (The Subscriber Modules (SMs) do not like having a "full blast" signal)
Maximum data throughput (Mbit/s)	21Mbit/s for PtMP, 300 Mbit/s using PTP 600.

Motorola

Motorola

Motorola, Inc. is an United States, multinational, Fortune 100, telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It is a manufacturer of wireless telephone handsets, also designing and selling wireless network infrastructure equipment such as cellular transmission base stations and signal amplifiers....
Canopy is a wireless networking system designed for WISPs (wireless internet service providers) available in point-to-point and point-to-multipoint

Point-to-multipoint

For general information for point-to-multipoint communication, refer to Link #Point-to-multipoint.Point-to-multipoint communication is a term that is used in the telecommunications field which refers to communication which is accomplished via a specific and distinct type of multipoint connection, providing multiple paths from a single locat...
configurations. It includes both the original Motorola-designed products using the Canopy protocol and the PtP backhauls that were rebranded from Orthogon Systems which Motorola acquired in 2006.

Typical setup

A typical Canopy setup consists of a cluster of up to 6 co-located standard access point

Access Point

Access Point can refer to:*Access Point , a location on Anvers Island, Antarctica*Wireless access point, a wireless networking device...
s, each with a 60 degree horizontal beamwidth

Beamwidth

In telecommunication, the term beamwidth has the following meanings:1. In the radio regime, of an antenna pattern, the angle between the half-power points of the main lobe, when referenced to the peak effective radiated power of the main lobe....
antenna, to achieve 360 degree coverage. Also included would be one or more backhauls or otherwise out-of-band links (to carry data to/from other network ocations) and a Cluster Management Module (CMM) to provide power and synchronization to each Canopy AP or Backhaul Module(BM).

Customers of the system receive service through subscriber modules (SMs) aimed towards the AP. The SMs should be mounted on the tall point of a building to get a reliable connection else Fresnel zone

Fresnel zone

File:FresnelSVG.svgIn optics and radio telecommunication, a Fresnel zone, named for physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel, is one of a number of concentric ellipsoids of revolution which define volumes in the radiation pattern of a circular aperture ....
obstruction will weaken the signal. Under ideal operating conditions connections at distances up to 3.5 miles can be achieved using equipment with integrated antennas

Antenna (radio)

An 'antenna' is a transducer designed to transmitter or receive Electromagnetic radiations. In other words, antennas convert electromagnetic waves into electrical currents and vice versa....
. Network operators can opt to install reflector dishes or Stinger antennas, or to use Canopy models that accept external antennas at one or both ends of the link to increase coverage distance.

Most Canopy equipment receives its power using Power over Ethernet

Power over Ethernet

Power over Ethernet or PoE technology describes a system to transfer electrical power, along with data, to remote devices over standard twisted-pair cable in an Ethernet network....
, however, none of its standards comply with IEEE 802.3af.

In general, the 900 MHz version is more effective for use in outlying areas because of its ability to penetrate through trees. However, it requires careful installation due to the easy propagation of interference on that band.

Comparison with other wireless networking systems

Canopy-protocol products have many advantages over wi-fi

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance, founded in 1999 as Wireless Internet Compatibility Alliance , comprising more than 300 companies, whose products are certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, based on the IEEE 802.11 standards ....
and other WLAN

Wireless LAN

A wireless LAN is a wireless local area network that links two or more computers or devices using Spread spectrum or OFDM modulation technology based to enable communication between devices in a limited area....
protocols:

• transmission timing is explicitly controlled, so that all APs on all towers can be synchronized by GPS to prevent interference. APs of the same band can be placed right next to each other, and back-to-back units can use the exact same frequency.
• designed for WISP use; polling-based (prevents one SM from "hogging" bandwidth), excellent interference rejection and easy management.
• simple to install and configure and highly reliable.