Where Fiber Can’t Reach: How Wireless and LEO Expand Enterprise Connectivity
This blog is part of the Multi-Path Network Playbook series. Read the series.
For many enterprises, fiber and cable can provide strong, reliable connectivity across locations, but fiber and cable aren’t always available where or when the business needs connectivity. For instance, a new retail location might be ready to open before wired broadband is installed, or a construction project may only require connectivity for several months rather than years.
Wireless and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite services give enterprises more ways to provide connectivity across diverse locations. Rather than every location depending on the availability of a wired connection, enterprises choose connectivity based on the requirements of each site.
When the Network Can’t Wait
Deploying wired infrastructure to a new location can require permits, construction, service providers, and installation. In some areas, the necessary wired broadband isn’t even available. A new retail store needs connectivity for point of sale systems, cloud applications, inventory management, and employee communications. Construction teams need access to project information as their work progresses. And remote operations need to exchange data with people and systems across the organization.
The right connectivity approach will depend on the location and its specific business requirements. Hughes Managed Broadband takes this site-specific approach, supporting connectivity options ranging from fiber and cable to LTE, 5G, and satellite. Hughes uses carrier-agnostic site prequalification to help right-fit coverage and supports temporary connectivity for situations such as new site launches, seasonal kiosks, and location buildouts.
Wireless Makes Connectivity More Flexible
Wireless, 4G/LTE, and 5G can provide an alternative when installing wired broadband isn’t a practical option and a business needs to get a location up and running quickly. Wireless can be useful for new, temporary, and changing locations because wireless doesn’t require the same physical buildout as a new wired connection. Wireless can also support mobile or changing operations and extend connectivity to locations where wired services are unavailable or impractical, giving enterprises greater flexibility in how and where they connect sites. Hughes Managed Wireless is designed as a wireless-first option for rapid deployment, with service optimized according to the needs and available coverage at each location.
For instance, a new retail location might need to be operationally ready before a wired service is available. Wireless provides a way to get the critical systems online rather than basing the store opening on when wired connectivity is available. The same flexibility can apply to seasonal locations, temporary facilities, and other scenarios in which waiting for traditional broadband isn’t the best option.
LEO Extends the Enterprise Network Farther
Wireless expands enterprise connectivity, but cellular coverage isn’t available everywhere. That is where satellite connectivity can provide another option for enterprises.
LEO satellite service can deliver low-latency broadband to remote and underserved areas without relying on the local fiber or cable infrastructure that serves traditional wired connections. Hughes Managed LEO is designed for enterprise networks operating in remote, mobile, and mission-critical environments and can support primary as well as backup network designs. This creates possibilities for locations that can be difficult to connect through broadband alone.
For example, Hughes has deployed Managed LEO connectivity for a pipeline operator that needed broadband across infrastructure stretching from production fields to refineries. Hughes enabled the operator to add coverage points even in remote locations.
Similar connectivity challenges can happen in transportation and other distributed operations, where sites or assets may extend beyond the reach of traditional broadband. The business models may differ, but operations need connectivity when geography makes network access more challenging.
Match Connectivity to the Location
A network doesn’t have to use the same access technology at every site. A corporate office in a city may have fiber readily available to it. A retail location may start with wireless, and a remote energy site may rely on LEO connectivity. Some locations may depend upon multiple transport options.
Hughes Managed Broadband supports this approach by optimizing connectivity on a site-by-site basis across wireline, LTE, 5G, GEO, and LEO satellite options. The flexibility means enterprises don’t have to wait for a single type of connectivity to become available everywhere. They can match connectivity needs to factors such as location, availability, deployment timeline, and business requirements.
Expand Where the Business Can Operate
Wireless can help enterprises connect locations quickly when wired infrastructure is unavailable or impractical, while LEO can extend connectivity into remote and underserved environments. Alongside traditional broadband, these options give enterprises greater flexibility to match connectivity to the needs of each location and expand where the business can operate.
Explore Hughes Managed SD-WAN to learn how Hughes brings together wired, wireless, and satellite connectivity to meet the requirements across locations.
Explore more in the Multi-Path Network Playbook series: