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A network the community owns, where carriers do not build.

Many rural and Indigenous communities sit beyond commercial coverage. A community can own its own cellular and Wi-Fi network: a small site on a mast, shared spectrum, solar power and backhaul by microwave or satellite. Local people run it, set its rules and decide what happens to its data.

Industry

Communities

Measurements

5

Sources cited

7

1. Communities · Community cellular and broadband

   Beyond the carriers’ maps

   Many rural and Indigenous communities sit beyond commercial coverage, so emergencies, health care, school and business all wait. Spectrum rules in several countries now let communities run their own cellular networks. A small site, shared spectrum, solar power and long-reach backhaul can bring coverage the community owns.

2. What is measured

   Coverage, health and power

   The network measures itself: signal and quality across the community, availability and traffic at the site and core, backhaul health, and the solar and battery system that powers it. Walk tests at commissioning and radio exposure checks around the site complete the picture.

   Measured

   Coverage · Quality · Availability · Traffic · Power · Radio exposure

3. The base node

   Local calls stay local

   The node runs a compact core at the site, so calls and messages within the community never cross the backhaul. It caches content and updates, shapes traffic fairly, watches power, radio and backhaul, and keeps the community’s records where the community decided they live.

4. Radio and links

   Out through microwave or satellite

   A small cell gives phones coverage across the community and Wi-Fi carries heavy use at the school, clinic and hall. Microwave reaches the nearest fibre where a line of sight exists; satellite reaches communities beyond it, with caching to save capacity.

   Links

   Private LTE · Wi-Fi · Microwave · Satellite

5. How it works

   From a call to the clinic

   A parent calls the clinic across the village; the call stays on the local core. The nurse then sends a video consultation request to the regional hospital; it leaves over the backhaul with priority. That night the battery state reaches the local operator, who adjusts the evening load.

6. From order to operation · Order

   Scope with the community

   The scope starts with the community: who will own and run the network, what it must serve first, how it will be paid for and who holds its data. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the site design, spectrum route, backhaul, power, training and a price for building and for each year.

   Plan a deployment

7. From order to operation · Survey

   Survey with local guides

   Crews survey with local guides: mast positions with the best view of homes, the school and the clinic, the path to the nearest fibre or a clear sky for satellite, ground for the mast and solar array, and where people gather. Findings are recorded with photographs.

8. From order to operation · Permits

   Spectrum, land and consent

   The spectrum licence is applied for under the regulator’s local or shared access rules, the mast is approved on community land, and the community’s agreement sets ownership, data governance and how decisions are made. Every licence and agreement is kept with the site record.

9. From order to operation · Build

   Build and train together

   Small cells, access points, the core, node, backhaul and power are configured and tested together, enrolled with their identities and labelled. Local operators join the bench work, learning how each part is set up, tested and replaced. Test results travel with the kit to the site.

   Open the Station Builder

10. From order to operation · Install

    Raise the mast

    Crews and local operators raise the mast, mount the small cell, access points and backhaul antenna, install solar panels, batteries and the shelter, and connect everything. Every part is photographed and the site record is updated before the crew leaves.

11. From order to operation · Commission

    Commission and measure coverage

    Each node proves its identity. Walk and drive tests measure coverage and quality across the community, radio exposure is checked in public places around the site, and calls, messages and data are tested through to the backhaul. Local operators run the tests themselves.

12. From order to operation · Operate

    Run it locally

    Local operators see the network: coverage, traffic, availability, power and backhaul. They add subscribers, set tariffs and rules the community agreed, and reach remote support when they need it. Records stay where the community decided. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record.

13. From order to operation · Maintain

    Repair locally, update remotely

    Local operators replace swappable parts from spares kept on site, software updates arrive remotely in rings, batteries are tested each season, and the licence record is kept current. Training refreshers keep skills in the community. Spares and procedures travel with the crews.

    Book field services

14. Data products

    For residents and operators

    Residents, the school, the clinic and emergency services receive phone and data coverage; local operators receive network health and power; the community and the regulator receive coverage and quality records; the governing body receives usage and finance reports, each kept under the community’s own rules.

    See the data products

15. Evidence

    Owned, licensed and safe

    Coverage and quality are measured with the definitions carriers use, availability follows the international quality of service terms, radio exposure is checked against international guidelines, spectrum is used under the regulator’s licence, and data governance follows Indigenous data principles. Every record stays with the community.

    Drawn against

    3GPP TS 38.215 · ITU-T E.800 · ICNIRP Guidelines · 47 CFR Part 96 · CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance

16. What you get

    Municipal sensing and connectivity layers

    City-wide LPWAN or private 5G as a shared layer for public sensors and services. Delivered as managed service, for cities, regional governments. Scale: City-wide. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard. Changes are versioned, tested and reversible.

    Talk to sales

17. Next step

    Plan community cellular and broadband with us

    Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for community cellular and broadband. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.

    Plan a deploymentOpen the Station BuilderOpen the Studio

01The place and its hazards

Where it runs, and what can go wrong.

Operating contextRegulators in several countries now license spectrum for local and shared use, so communities and small operators can run their own cellular networks. Coverage and quality can be measured to the same definitions carriers use, radio exposure near antennas is assessed against international guidelines, and Indigenous data governance principles set who holds the data a network produces.

Hazards

• No coverage for emergencies, health and school
• Satellite backhaul that is costly and easily congested
• Diesel or unreliable grid power at the site
• Equipment no one locally can repair
• Data held far away under rules the community did not set

02What must be measured

What, where, how often, and under which rules.

Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below.

03The observation stack

From one base unit to a network.

The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol.

1. 01

   Base unit

   A community site: a small cell and Wi-Fi access points on a mast, a compact core and a node.

   Build a station →
2. 02

   Site

   A site: the mast, solar power and batteries, a shelter and microwave or satellite backhaul.

   Plan a site →
3. 03

   Fleet

   Several community sites run together, sharing one core and one operations view while each community keeps its own rules.

   Managed offers →
4. 04

   Network

   Community networks interconnect with carriers and with each other, and share coverage and quality records through open standards.

   The open protocol →

• 01Small cell (4G/5G)
• 02Wi-Fi access point
• 035G core appliance (UPF/core)
• 04Edge node (Wedge)
• 05Point-to-point microwave
• 06LEO flat-panel terminal
• 07Solar array
• 08Lattice tower

Radio and links

Private LTE

A small cell on licensed shared or community spectrum gives phones coverage across the community.

Radio and links

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi at the school, clinic and community hall carries heavy use cheaply.

Radio and links

Point-to-point microwave

Microwave to the nearest fibre point is the best backhaul where a line of sight exists.

Radio and links

Satellite

Satellite backhaul reaches communities beyond any line of sight, with caching to save capacity.

Edge computeThe node runs the compact core locally so calls and messages within the community never leave it, caches content and updates to save backhaul, shapes traffic fairly and watches power, radio and backhaul health.

PowerSolar panels and batteries sized for the cloudiest weeks power the site, with the battery state reported so local operators can act before the network goes down.

04How it works

From the instrument to the product.

One observation’s path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks.

05From order to operation

Every step, from the first call to a running site.

The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance.

1. 01 Order

   Scope with the community

   The scope starts with the community: who will own and run the network, what it must serve first, how it will be paid for and who holds its data. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the site design, spectrum route, backhaul, power, training and a price for building and for each year. 7

2. 02 Survey

   Survey with local guides

   Crews survey with local guides: mast positions with the best view of homes, the school and the clinic, the path to the nearest fibre or a clear sky for satellite, ground for the mast and solar array, and where people gather. Findings are recorded with photographs. 1

3. 03 Permits

   Spectrum, land and consent

   The spectrum licence is applied for under the regulator’s local or shared access rules, the mast is approved on community land, and the community’s agreement sets ownership, data governance and how decisions are made. Every licence and agreement is kept with the site record. 56

4. 04 Build

   Build and train together

   Small cells, access points, the core, node, backhaul and power are configured and tested together, enrolled with their identities and labelled. Local operators join the bench work, learning how each part is set up, tested and replaced. Test results travel with the kit to the site.

5. 05 Install

   Raise the mast

   Crews and local operators raise the mast, mount the small cell, access points and backhaul antenna, install solar panels, batteries and the shelter, and connect everything. Every part is photographed and the site record is updated before the crew leaves.

6. 06 Commission

   Commission and measure coverage

   Each node proves its identity. Walk and drive tests measure coverage and quality across the community, radio exposure is checked in public places around the site, and calls, messages and data are tested through to the backhaul. Local operators run the tests themselves. 31

7. 07 Operate

   Run it locally

   Local operators see the network: coverage, traffic, availability, power and backhaul. They add subscribers, set tariffs and rules the community agreed, and reach remote support when they need it. Records stay where the community decided. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record. 27

8. 08 Maintain

   Repair locally, update remotely

   Local operators replace swappable parts from spares kept on site, software updates arrive remotely in rings, batteries are tested each season, and the licence record is kept current. Training refreshers keep skills in the community. Spares and procedures travel with the crews.

06Data products and integration

What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems.

Data products

• Phone and data coverageResidents, the school, the clinic and emergency services
• Network health and powerLocal operators
• Coverage and quality recordsThe community and the regulator
• Usage and finance reportsThe community’s governing body

Integration

• CarriersCalls and roaming interconnect with carriers where agreements exist.
• Emergency callsEmergency calls are routed to the public answering point through the backhaul.
• Community systemsSubscriber, tariff and finance records stay in systems the community controls.

Exchanged through 3GPP, TR-069, OGC SensorThings API.

07Questions buyers ask

Before you scope it.

Can we own the network?

Yes. The design assumes community ownership and local operators.

Do we need a licence?

Usually, under the regulator’s local or shared spectrum rules; the scope sets the route.

What if backhaul is slow?

Local calls stay local, and caching saves capacity for what must leave.

Who holds our data?

The community decides, following its data governance agreement.

08Resources

The sources behind this page.

Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does.

1. 13GPP TS 38.215: NR physical layer measurements3rd Generation Partnership Project
2. 2ITU-T E.800: Definitions of terms related to quality of serviceInternational Telecommunication Union
3. 3ICNIRP Guidelines for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz)International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection · 2020
4. 4IEC TS 62257: Renewable energy and hybrid systems for rural electrificationInternational Electrotechnical Commission
5. 547 CFR Part 96: Citizens Broadband Radio ServiceUnited States Federal Communications Commission
6. 6Shared Access Licence: guidance documentOfcom
7. 7CARE Principles for Indigenous Data GovernanceGlobal Indigenous Data Alliance · 2019

09Related

Use cases and solutions.

10Communities: specialized fields

Other fields of this industry.

Bring us the site.

Plan a deployment, configure a station, model it in the Studio or talk to sales. The form names who receives your details.