--- title: "Network scenes | Nexus Observatory" description: "Each scene places a radio access, Open RAN, AI-RAN, private 5G, IoT, satellite or backhaul deployment in a place drawn to scale…" url: https://observatory.global/environments/networks/ publisher: Nexus Observatory Inc. updated: 2026-10-29 --- Network scenes # Networks, computed in the place they run. Each scene places a radio access, Open RAN, AI-RAN, private 5G, IoT, satellite or backhaul deployment in a place drawn to scale, with its signals computed from the propagation models and standards it names. [**Radio access in a city centre** A three-sector macro site on the tallest roof and small cells on street poles: their coverage, interference and beams computed over the streets and buildings of the drawing. RAN · 5G NR · City](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/ran-city/) [**Open RAN in a suburb** A disaggregated site: the radio unit on the mast, the distributed unit in the cabinet, the central unit and near-real-time RIC at the edge, the non-real-time RIC and SMO in the cloud, with every interface drawn and named. O-RAN · Fronthaul · RIC · Suburb](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/oran-suburb/) [**AI-RAN at a stadium** Radios on the stadium roof run their baseband on a GPU server at the edge, which also runs the AI that watches the crowd and steers the beams through an xApp loop. AI-RAN · Near-RT RIC · Massive MIMO · Venue](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/ai-ran-stadium/) [**Private 5G in an open-pit mine** A private network for haul trucks, drills and slope radar: a mast on the rim, a cell in the pit, the core at the plant, and coverage computed over the benches themselves. Private 5G · Mining · Terrain](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/private5g-mine/) [**Private 5G at a container port** Small cells on the yard lighting masts and a sector site on the operations building serve remote-controlled cranes and trucks among steel container stacks. Private 5G · Port · Remote control](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/private5g-port/) [**LoRaWAN across a farm and village** Soil probes in every field report to gateways on the water tower and the church spire; the adaptive data rate, time on air and duty cycle are computed from the link budget. IoT · LoRaWAN · Rural](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/iot-farm/) [**IoT in the city: a street-light mesh and LoRaWAN** Street-light controllers form a radio mesh that routes around a failed node to its border router, while meters and sensors report to a rooftop LoRaWAN gateway. IoT · Mesh · LoRaWAN · City](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/iot-city/) [**Industrial IoT in a process plant** Wireless instruments on the pipe racks and process units form a mesh to the control building, tank gauges report over LoRaWAN, and a microwave hop links the control building to the substation. IoT · Mesh · LoRaWAN · Industrial](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/iot-plant/) [**Satellite direct to device in a mountain valley** Where the valley cell cannot reach, phones on the pass road connect straight to a low-orbit satellite, which relays through its feeder link to a gateway. Slant range, delay, Doppler and SNR are computed for the pass geometry. NTN · Satellite · Mountain](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/ntn-d2d/) [**Microwave backhaul across a river valley** An 18 GHz hop from the church tower to a mast on the far side of the flood plain: its first Fresnel zone, clearance over the town and trees, and what a new building in the path costs. Backhaul · Fresnel zone · River](https://observatory.global/environments/networks/backhaul-fresnel/) ## The places [**Rural village and farmland** Soil probes in the fields, a LoRaWAN gateway on the water tower, a weather station by a farmstead and a solar microgrid at the village edge. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/rural-village/) [**City centre** Small-cell poles at the junctions, air-quality nodes on the footways and an edge node in the exchange, among blocks drawn to their heights. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/city-centre/) [**Suburb** A monopole cell site by the shopping parade, a weather station at the school and a substation on the distribution network. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/suburb/) [**Process plant** Gas detectors on the units, a private LTE mast on its skid, an edge data centre by the control building and a substation yard. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/plant-yard/) [**Container terminal** A coastal radar, a met-ocean buoy in the approach and crane-side edge compute among quay cranes and container stacks. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/container-terminal/) [**Open-pit mine complex** Slope radar on the rim, a haul truck on the ramp, a primary crusher, a private LTE mast and a tailings section with piezometers. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/mine-complex/) [**Offshore field** A met-ocean buoy and a profiling float near a jacket platform and an offshore wind array, reporting through a satellite terminal. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/offshore-field/) [**Forest ridges** Fire cameras on the ridges, a flux tower in the stand and a weather station on the fire road. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/forest-ridges/) [**River and flood plain** A radar stream gauge on the road bridge, a water-quality station on the bank and a groundwater well on the plain. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/river-floodplain/) [**Alpine valley** A snow-depth and avalanche radar station above the tree line, a GNSS monument on a spur and a seismometer vault by the village. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/alpine-valley/) [**Highway corridor** A road-weather station by the interchange, a roadside cell site and a GNSS station on the overpass. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/highway-corridor/) [**Stadium and campus** Massive-MIMO units on the stadium roof, an AI edge node beside it and a weather station on the campus quad. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/stadium-campus/) [**Airport** A weather station by the runway, a lidar for wind shear and a ground station beside the cargo apron. Guided tour](https://observatory.global/environments/airport-field/) © 2026 Nexus Observatory Inc. **Legal** [Privacy notice](https://observatory.global/legal/privacy/) · [Terms of use](https://observatory.global/legal/terms/) · [Cookie policy](https://observatory.global/legal/cookies/) · [Accessibility](https://observatory.global/legal/accessibility/) · [Official languages](https://observatory.global/official-languages/) · [Trademarks](https://observatory.global/trademarks/) · [Notices](https://observatory.global/notices/) **Company** [About](https://observatory.global/about/) · [Stewardship](https://observatory.global/consortium/) · [Contact](https://observatory.global/contact/)