CTS Mobility connects retail locations with 10x faster speeds using the Inseego Wavemaker 5G Outdoor CPE FW2000

The challenge – Address connectivity concerns across North American and Caribbean retail locations

CTS Mobility was working with a major U.S. retailer that specializes in discount goods to bring reliable, high-speed 5G to thousands of outlets across North America and Puerto Rico.

The retailer needed cellular connectivity to support store-level operations, including point-of-sale solutions, backroom and office computers, telephony, and security systems. The retailer’s existing system included indoor wireless equipment, but the devices often performed poorly.

The retailer needed a solution that would provide high-quality connections and offer significant bandwidth and low latency to all locations, including remote areas to ensure every store had the same quality of access. The solution would also have to support management to all sites from one portal to simplify software rollouts, updates, and communications with locations in different time zones. Any devices used had to be inexpensive and easy to install to be rolled out quickly and across multiple locations. Since many of the retail stores were leased, the ideal solution needed to have a minimal footprint on the building itself.

The solution – Resilient, deployable connectivity

To address the retailer’s network requirements, CTS Mobility selected the Inseego Wavemaker 5G Outdoor CPE FW2000, a highly resilient, dual-SIM outdoor device, for the majority of its 254 installs. After performance testing, the FW2000 was selected as the retail locations’ primary connection due to its speed and reliability. The durable and reliable devices provided the retailer with network speeds and connectivity it needed to enhance in-store operations.

“Our customer needed devices at their stores that would always work. That meant bringing 5G into the server rooms to support retail operations. Those 5G connections needed to be easy to manage, easy to install, and the right price. The FW2000 provided all of that,” said Adrian Trejo, Manager of Strategic Initiatives at CTS Mobility.

The FW2000’s high-gain directional antennas extend the range of nearby carrier networks, overcoming wireless coverage issues inside stores. These robust CPEs can withstand extreme temperatures and are IP67-rated to protect against water and dust intrusion, ensuring they continue to operate in even extreme weather conditions, from hurricane zones to arctic tundra.

CTS Mobility has deployed FW2000 outdoor CPEs in places prone
to hurricanes, blizzards, and extreme heat. Even when there are
extreme weather events, we see virtually no weather-related
support tickets for the devices. They just work.

– Adrian Trejo, Manager of Strategic Initiatives at CTS Mobility.

Simplified device deployment via the Inseego Mobile app, more flexible power and connectivity options, and a small deployment footprint enabled the retailer to connect its many locations quickly and easily. Rather than having to run AC adapters to wall outlets to connect the devices, they could be connected using Power over Ethernet (PoE) injectors and carry power over CAT6 cables from the Inseego unit directly to the store’s routing equipment with a single cable for data and power. Since the outdoor devices only need four small holes in a roof for installation, devices were simple to install and the retailer could easily get permission from landlords for its many leased locations.

As the retailer expands operations, CTS Mobility and Inseego can quickly meet connectivity needs. On average, a new store can get a reliable and fast 5G connection within 3 to 5 days, including site survey and installation.

For three sites where rooftop access wasn’t an option, the retailer was able to use the Inseego S2000, an industrial gateway that delivers the necessary performance, reliability, and ease-of-deployment.

Single-portal management of every device at its U.S. and international locations via the Inseego Connect cloud management platform helped convince the retailer that the FW2000 and the S2000 were the right fit for its operation. Full visibility into wireless signal strength, firmware revisions, and uptime ensured local retail locations could quickly roll out devices and deliver services reliably and efficiently.

The results

With Inseego 5G hardware, the retailer was able to quickly connect all of its 254 locations into a single cloud management platform, deploying on average about 20 units per month.

The combination of high-quality 5G connectivity and a single-pane-of-glass view with the Inseego Connect cloud management platform allowed the retailer to easily manage device deployment, roll out updates as needed, and remotely troubleshoot devices. Because the devices are carrier-agnostic, the retailer could use the same management platform even when it had to use different mobile network operators in different locations, which proved crucial. The wireless network has been so successful that the retailer is now looking to apply the same deployment strategy for its European Union locations.

Approximately 50 of the retail sites that previously struggled with wireless network performance now enjoy download speeds up to 300 Mbps and upload speeds of 40 Mbps with primary and failover wireless connectivity available. In some locations, the accelerated wireless speeds represent a 10-fold increase, dramatically improving the quality of retail experience retailers can provide to shoppers.

The FW2000 has also proven it can operate in harsh environments thanks to its temperature-hardened enclosure and IP67 rating against water and dust. This ensures that deployed FW2000 devices will continue to deliver value to the retailer well into the future as new sites are added to the network. After over a year of operation, the retailer has reported no issues with any of the deployed devices.