Extending 5G coverage across a challenging hillside residential property
Organization: Master-Planned Residential Community
Industry: Residential / HOA
Region: Brea, California
Use Case: Outdoor cellular coverage for connected community infrastructure
Executive Summary
A 687-home master-planned residential community spanning approximately 800 acres in Brea, California, had targeted areas with weak or little usable cellular service. Reliable connectivity was increasingly important to connected infrastructure across the property, including 27 cloud-connected license plate recognition (LPR) cameras and water-monitoring systems.
Velos Internet & Tech deployed the Airgain Lighthouse™ 5G Intelligent Node to extend an existing 5G signal into hard-to-reach areas without building a new cellular site.
Field testing showed improved cellular performance at all five measured locations. Two locations with no usable data service gained measurable 5G connectivity, including approximately 140 Mbps at one location. Initial installation and commissioning were completed in less than 1.5 days despite challenging hillside conditions.
The large hillside property presented difficult cellular coverage conditions, with targeted areas receiving weak or little usable service.
Those coverage gaps were increasingly important as the community expanded its use of connected infrastructure. Velos had deployed 27 cloud-connected LPR cameras and was helping transition portions of the community’s water-monitoring systems toward cellular connectivity.
The community needed a solution that could:
Velos Internet & Tech, a systems integrator working with Airgain, selected Lighthouse™ 5G Intelligent Node to extend existing cellular coverage into hard-to-reach areas.
The Brea deployment uses a T-Mobile n41 configuration and an existing cellular donor signal. This approach extends coverage without requiring a new backhauled cell site, helping reduce infrastructure and deployment complexity in suitable environments.
The remote hillside installation included:
Despite the site conditions, initial installation and commissioning were completed in less than a day and a half.
Field testing showed improved cellular performance at 5 of 5 measured locations, with test points approximately 650 to 2,600 feet from the Lighthouse installation.
Two test locations that previously had no usable data service gained measurable 5G connectivity after deployment.
At one location where no usable data connection was available before deployment, subsequent testing measured approximately 140 Mbps.
Initial installation and commissioning were completed in less than 1.5 days, including vegetation clearing, pole installation, antenna mounting and alignment, and installation of the standalone solar power system.
Improved cellular coverage provides a stronger connectivity layer for security cameras, water and infrastructure monitoring, remote video and alerts, and potential future connected applications.
| Metric | Before Deployment | After Deployment |
|---|---|---|
| Measured locations | Coverage challenges at all five test points | Improved cellular performance at all five |
| No-usable-data locations | 2 locations | Measurable 5G connectivity at both |
| Example test location | No usable data connection | Approximately 140 Mbps |
Residential communities, campuses, municipalities, and other large properties increasingly depend on cellular connectivity for security, monitoring, IoT, and day-to-day operations. Yet terrain, distance, buildings, and other RF conditions can leave important areas without reliable service even when a cellular network is nearby.
The Brea deployment demonstrates how Lighthouse can extend an existing cellular signal into targeted coverage gaps without building a new cell site. For suitable locations, this approach can reduce infrastructure complexity while providing measurable improvements where connectivity is needed.
As James Lara, President of Velos Internet & Tech, said:
Terrain, distance from existing network infrastructure, buildings, vegetation, and other RF conditions can weaken cellular signals and create localized areas with limited or unusable service.
Lighthouse uses an existing cellular donor signal and intelligent RF control to extend usable coverage into targeted indoor or outdoor areas where the network does not adequately reach.
No new cell site was required for the Brea deployment. Lighthouse extended an existing cellular donor signal into targeted coverage areas.
No new wired cellular backhaul connection is required for the coverage-extension function. Individual installations still require appropriate power, antennas, cabling, mounting, and other site infrastructure.
Initial installation and commissioning were completed in less than a day and a half. This timing is specific to the Brea deployment and included site preparation, pole installation, antenna mounting and alignment, and installation of a standalone solar power system.
Potential applications include cloud-connected security cameras, remote video and alerts, water and infrastructure monitoring, access control, environmental sensors, and other IoT systems.
Learn how Airgain Lighthouse™ 5G Intelligent Node can help address targeted indoor and outdoor cellular coverage gaps.
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