‘Cambium Networks’ Makes Visakhapatnam’s Strategic Port Easily Connected

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The peninsula region of India has a total of 13 seaports that are buzzing with activity all through the year. Cargos are the fastest means of imports and exports barring the drawback of bad weather conditions at times and most recently, the outbreak of pandemic coronavirus. There are challenges in building port infrastructure as well and in this article, we explore a case study of how Textra Solutions chose Cambium Networks to transform the strategic port of Visakhapatnam. 

There are close to 7500 commodities that are exported from India to close to 190 countries and 6000 commodities are imported from 140 countries. These numbers indicate that the numbered seaports are constantly bustling with traders and good infrastructure would be the best anchor to keep export-import flowing. While ports and construction of roads play a vital role, it is the communication that needs to be perfected. 

To bring in the best quality of communication systems which is Radio Frequency Identification Systems (RFID), wireless technology was the choice. 

Here is a story of how Textra Solutions transformed the strategic port of Visakhapatnam with Cambium Networks. 

Textra Solutions has been a major provider of wireless solutions for Indian projects such as smart cities, agriculture and industrial applications. When the strategic port of Visakhapatnam needed a communication system upgrade, it came with a big challenge. 

The challenge with the Visakhapatnam Port

There were at least 1000 trucks that passed the cement road around the port and a quite a dusty, harsh environment that made it difficult to dig trenches for communications. 

Textra Solutions did not back down and chose to take the RFID challenge onto themselves and make optimum use of wireless technology infrastructure to acknowledge additional challenges such as to: 

1.Enable Industrial IoT (IIoT) RFID systems for all port entry and exit gates

2. Provide outdoor Wi-Fi on port berths that previously did not have internet access
3. Improve security by connecting closed-circuit television (CCTV) at selected locations

The requirements to overcome challenges

A coverage of 11-kilometer area was needed across the port. To ensure superior connectivity, Textra had to seek out a wide area point-to-multipoint (PMP) wireless broadband solution. They needed a solution that would grow with the growth of the requirements. 

The solution: Cambium Networks. Why did it work? 

Textra chose Cambium Networks’ ePMPTM wireless broadband radios and cnPilotTM Outdoor Wi-Fi Hotspots which provided easy installation capabilities and interoperability with devices. To model the system and preview its performance, Textra used the LINKPlannerTM software which allowed them to be in check of the demands to be met. 

54 Cambium Networks were put together in a design that became a private network for management of the port, RFID for communication or connectivity for IIoT devices and CCTV systems for security. 

“Based on the reliable communications and performance over the wireless network, the port standardized Cambium Networks’ wireless products as both their primary and secondary communication systems.”

-Sandeep Varma, Managing Director, Textra Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Summing Up… 

Connectivity and communication are crucial for the management of ports and for years now, the port only saw wireless communication as a secondary option in case the wired network failed. After deploying Cambium Network’s systems across the port, there isn’t a need for the primary wired network anymore as cargos sail just as smoothly. 

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