Remote Industrial Sites: Why Fiber Isn’t Always the Solution
Fiber optics is the highest-performance connectivity solution—but it is only available to sites located near the operator’s infrastructure. In France, despite ambitious deployment plans, many industrial sites remain unable to connect to fiber for technical and economic reasons:
Sites too far from OCNs (Optical Connection Nodes): The civil engineering costs of laying fiber over a distance of 5 to 20 km are prohibitive and are not covered by operators for a single site.
Rural Areas and Unserved Areas: DETR, quarries, farms, pumping stations, water reservoirs—these sites are often located in unserved or underserved areas, with no fiber-optic or carrier cable nearby.
Temporary or seasonal sites: Fiber connections take 6 to 24 months to install—which is not feasible for sites that are active only a few months a year.
Areas subject to land-use restrictions: designated sites, protected natural areas, and agricultural properties without easements for underground cables.
In all these cases, a 4G internet connection is the practical solution: it can be deployed in a matter of hours, without the need for civil engineering work, and offers performance that is more than sufficient for industrial applications.
Multi-carrier: The Key to Reliability in Rural Areas
Automatic carrier selection is the most important feature for locations with limited coverage. The Eziwan multi-carrier 4G router continuously tests the signal quality of available carriers and automatically connects to the best one:
| Carrier | Primary 4G Band | Rural Coverage | Strengths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange | B20 (800 MHz) | Excellent | Best national coverage |
| SFR | B20 (800 MHz) | Very good | Dense coverage in rural areas |
| Bouygues | B20 (800 MHz) | Good | Active rural deployments |
| Free | B28 (700 MHz) | Improving | Primarily urban areas |
The 800 MHz band (B20) is the most important for rural areas: 800 MHz waves travel long distances and penetrate obstacles better than higher bands (1800, 2600 MHz). Orange and SFR are the carriers with the best 800 MHz coverage in rural areas.
With Eziwan’s multi-carrier Dual SIM, your site has two connections from two different carriers: the likelihood of a complete loss of connectivity is extremely low.
External Antennas: Maximizing Signal Strength in Remote Locations
The external antenna is often the key factor determining the quality of a 4G connection at a remote industrial site. Antenna gain (in dBi) directly translates to improved signal reception and data throughput:
5 dBi omnidirectional mast-mounted antenna: picks up signals from all nearby towers without needing to be pointed in any specific direction. 5 dB gain compared to an internal antenna (approximately 60% greater range). Ideal for sites surrounded by several cell towers at medium distances (5–20 km).
9–12 dBi directional panel antenna: pointed toward the strongest carrier tower identified by field measurements. 9–12 dB gain compared to an internal antenna (2× to 4× range). Ideal for very remote locations with a single usable tower at a great distance (20–40 km).
15 dBi Yagi Antenna: highly directional antenna, maximum gain, exceptional range. Recommended only for extreme cases (sites 40+ km from the nearest tower). Requires precise alignment.
4x4 MIMO Kit: 4 antennas on 4 connectors to take advantage of LTE MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) technology. It improves not only range but also data throughput by doubling or quadrupling the number of data streams.
No construction required: deployment in one day
The main reason to choose 4G for a remote location is the speed and ease of deployment. Unlike a fiber connection, which requires civil engineering work (trenching, conduit installation, and cable pulling), a 4G connection can be installed in a single day:
Morning: Receive the Eziwan kit (router + antenna + cable + pre-programmed M2M SIM card). Identify the best location for the antenna (roof, mast, corner of a building).
Antenna Installation (2–3 hours): Mounting the antenna on a mast or wall, running the SMA coaxial cable into the building, and connecting it to the Eziwan router.
Router Installation (30 minutes): Mounting on a DIN rail inside the cabinet or wall-mounted enclosure, connecting Ethernet cables to the devices, connecting the 24V DC power supply, and inserting the SIM card.
Automatic Setup (15 minutes): The router connects to the Eziwan cloud, downloads its configuration, and establishes the VPN tunnel. Monitoring is available in the portal.
Use Case: Remote Industrial Sites Connected via 4G
Pumping stations and water towers: water infrastructure typically found in rural areas without a wired network. The Eziwan 4G router connects the control units that monitor level, flow, and pressure to the central SCADA system, enabling remote management without the need for on-site visits.
Solar and Wind Farms: Renewable energy facilities are often located in agricultural areas far from power grids. A 4G connection enables real-time monitoring of production, predictive maintenance, and regulatory reporting.
Quarries and mining sites: extraction sites in remote areas that require monitoring of blasting, screening, and crushing equipment. 4G with a directional antenna covers sites spanning several square kilometers.
Farms and Silos: Grain storage silos and irrigation systems in rural areas benefit from 4G connectivity for automated management and remote meter reading, even in areas without ADSL or fiber-optic service.