Sydney-based Cradlepoint MSP, MobileCorp, has developed a Cradlepoint Connected Vehicle Proof of Concept Kit which allows companies to trial 5G connectivity without upfront capital costs.
'Always-on' data connectivity is imperative in today's business world and this expectation extends to secure connected vehicles.
The use cases for connected vehicles continues to grow, including:
The rise of Cradlepoint's 5G-native vehicle routers along with cloud management has expanded the capabilities, security and reliability of vehicle connectivity.
The objective of the Connected Vehicle POC Kit is to be able to fully trial 4G and 5G mobile connectivity in a geographical area without having to purchase the Cradlepoint router or physically compromise the vehicle.
Typically, a connected vehicle would have the router installed in a secured, limited access location that ideally requires a tool or key to access. It would be installed to avoid accidental touch as the touch surface may exceed 60°C when operating in high temperatures.
The location would need enough space for antenna attachment and be within reasonable proximity of the distribution block and/or fuse panel as the power source.
An external antenna would also be fixed to the vehicle - usually adjacent to the front windscreen or on the roof - and connected to the router.
MobileCorp's POC Kit enables a full trial of the technology without drilling any holes or modifying the vehicle by attaching equipment to it.
The kit includes:
We're not just going to hand you the kit and say good luck! The MobileCorp team will act as your co-driver/navigator for the duration of the POC.
MobileCorp will collaborate with you to define the parameters and outcomes of the POC, and will set you up for success by providing:
Now you are ready to start moving....
In most cases, the Proof of Concept will take place over 2-4 weeks as the vehicle is driven around within its usual geographic range.
MobileCorp will support your trial by allocating one of our Cradlepoint engineers to the POC. He will liaise with your driver, monitor connectivity, and make optimisation changes as required. He will also be available for support and trouble-shooting.
MobileCorp's engineer will utilise Cradlepoint NetCloud Manager to provide visibility of :
Location services: Provides a real-time view of the location of the various routers.
Location tracking: Offers a historical view of a vehicle
Coverage Mapping: Integrated heatmaps allow a view of the cellular health of the R1900 in an intuitive, visual way. It allows for a quick comparison of cellular health between carriers and between bands.
Cellular Signal Health: A real-time view of the signal quality (SINR, RSRQ, RSRP, EC/lo, RSSI) and signal strength (RSSI). In addition to viewing the signal quality in real time, it is possible to provide a historical view over predefined or customisable ranges.
Traffic Usage: Not only do we capture usage data but powerful ML/AI capabilities forecast data usage based on current usage patterns. To ensure you never have an overage, alerts can be set up to inform you when you have reached a certain data usage threshold on pooled accounts for a single carrier and/or on just a single router.
Traffic Steering: The NetCloud Quality of Experience card gives a ranking of your WAN's network latency. Application QoE information is displayed for each application including bytes in/bytes out amounts for each application and a health score. NetCloud also provides visibility of how your traffic-steering rules are affecting your network traffic.
Security Dashboard: The NetCloud Manager Security dashboard is an Advanced Plan feature that provides a high-level overview of your network security activity and incidents, from a single location. The information shown on the Security dashboard is the result of your Cradlepoint Secure Web Filter (CPSWF), Cradlepoint Secure Threat Management (CPSTM), and router configurations.
When the Proof of Concept trial period is completed, MobileCorp will share a series of reports on how each of the carrier(s) have performed, where drop-outs have occurred, how the second SIM failover performed, and other insights from the NetCloud Manager platform.
We will also provide a recommendation for future in-vehicle solution architecture and deployments.
Image: NetCloud Manager RSRP performance
Try before you buy.
The Connected Vehicle Proof of Concept service is designed so that businesses can trial the technology without the upfront investment of purchasing the Cradlepoint hardware and licence, and without the commitment of a vehicle installation.
MobileCorp charges a one-off monthly cost for the Cradlepoint Connected Vehicle Proof of Concept service.
This fee covers all the hardware, software, carriage, engineering, cloud management, support, and reporting that you need to run a full POC and have meaningful outcomes.
Specifically it includes:
Cradlepoint is widely acknowledged as a global leader in 5G hardware and software.
While many router manufacturers are just releasing their first generation 5G-embedded devices, Cradlepoint has had its second generation 5G devices in market since mid-2021, and has been aggressively advancing its cloud management and cybersecurity capabilities ever since.
R1900
The R1900 is a 5G high-performance ruggedised router designed for the ultimate in-vehicle network connectivity. It is future-proofed with dual modem connectivity enabled through the RX-30 which holds an expansion slot for the additional MC-400 modem, as well as four additional standard GbE ports for carrier diversity and the ability to add additional connected devices.NetCloud Manager
All Cradlepoint routers and adapters are sold globally with a subscription to NetCloud Manager. This is a platform which provides continuous cloud, modem and router software visibility, as well as policy and configuration management, monitoring alerts, cellular health and remote out-of-band device management.
MobileCorp is Australia's leading Cradlepoint MSP. We have deployed some of Australia's first Cradlepoint enabled 5G networks. Visit our website here for more information.
At MobileCorp we are Cradlepoint aficionados. We love to chat about innovative use cases utilising 5G and are happy to share our knowledge. Reach out to talk about anything Cradlepoint including our Connected Vehicle POC Kit.
Peter Jonson
MobileCorp is an enterprise ICT solutions company with a mission to deliver our customers a communications technology edge. We provide Managed Mobility Services, Enterprise Mobility Management, Complex Data and IP Networks, and Unified Communication solutions. We have a proven track record providing managed services for Australian enterprise and business, and we are a Telstra Platinum Partner.