In which countries can the SX-SDMAH be used?
The SX-SDMAH(US) obtained the modular certificate for US and Canada. The antenna gain must be 3.4dB or less to apply the certification for your product.
Silex has also developed SX-SDMAH(JP) for Japanese market. We are actively monitoring the regulatory update in EU for wideband sub-GHz radio. We will communicate the availability in EU as the regulatory settlement progresses.
Silex provides the certification service for usage with different antennas or different regions.
Do you see any Wi-Fi HaLow usage difference among region?
Yes, we do. Each region has different regulatory constraints. Here is the major differences between US and EU.
- Communication range: Wi-Fi HaLow in US will give more range performance than that in EU. (e.g. 3km vs 1km) This difference is due to maximum transmission power regulation
- Operating frequency: US has much wider operational band than EU.
- US: 902MHz - 928MHz
- EU: 863MHz - 868MHz
- Data throughput: US regulation is more friendly for high data throughput application such as video streaming or broadband infrastructure than EU.
- US: no duty cycle limitation. Up to 16MHz channel bandwidth is allowed.
- EU: Duty cycle takes place. 1MHz channel bandwidth is allowed.
EU regulation is discussed to enable large scale IoT network where at least 50 station devices are connected to one Wi-Fi HaLow access point. EU is not intending to promote Wi-Fi HaLow for video streaming or broadband internet service.
How far can a Wi-Fi HaLow radio reach?
We've seen 2-3 mega-bit-per-second data throughput over a mile at 23dBm transmission power in line of sight location with some noise in 915MHz band in the US.
The distance will depend on the height of the antenna placement, radio interference from other devices operating in sub-GHz band (LoRaWAN, RFID, etc.), transmission power, and other factors. Silex will work with customers to assess the viability of Wi-Fi HaLow for specific use cases.
Read more:
How far can 802.11ah can go before the connection is 'Dead'?
What is the recommended antenna height?
At least 2-m is required. However, higher than 6-m is ideal to keep the fresnel zone clean even in line of sight location.
What data throughput can I expect with my embedded system enabled by the SX-SDMAH?
We observe over 18Mbps TCP data throughput with our evaluation Linux driver running on the Raspberry Pi when operating in 8MHz channel bandwidth. With 4MHz channel bandwidth, it will be around 10Mbps. With 2MHz channel bandwidth, it will be 5Mbps TCP throughput. With 1MHz channel bandwidth, it will be 2Mbps TCP throughput.
The throughput will also depend on the CPU's performance in your embedded system. With the i.MX6 ULL operating at a little over 500MHz, the TCP throughput is bounded at around 16Mbps when operating in 8MHz channel bandwidth. With 1MHz/2MHz/4MHz channel bandwidth, we don't observe much difference between i.MX6 ULL and Raspberry Pi platform.
Outside of the United States, some regions define the duty cycle for radio transmission. The data throughput will be the function of the duty cycle when it applies.
The outdoor performance check with silex EVK is available in the blog.
How far can 802.11ah can go before the connection is 'Dead'?
What do I need to integrate Wi-Fi HaLow network into my existing network infrastructure?
A Wi-Fi HaLow access point is required to associate Wi-Fi HaLow stations. Since Wi-Fi HaLow operates in sub-GHz frequency band, Wi-Fi HaLow stations cannot be connected to legacy Wi-Fi access point or router operating in 2.4G/5GHz band.
Silex offers the high-performance AP-150AH and the enterprise AP-100AH that can be easily plugged into an Ethernet switch or router so that the Wi-Fi HaLow wireless LAN can be integrated into your network.
Read more:
AP-150AH Product Page
AP-100AH Product Page
How many Wi-Fi HaLow stations can be connected to a single access point ?
AP-100AH: 675 stations
AP-150AH: 200 stations
SX-SDMAH-US's driver is theoretically capable of handling 8,000 devices though it has not been fully validated, yet.
What operating system does the SX-SDMAH support?
What evaluation platforms are available for SX-SDMAH?
How can I get the evaluation image?
Please request the evaluation image from this page: Evaluation license agreement
Our sales and technical support team will contact you to provide the access to the necessary tools. Please understand that some of the contents requires to execute NDA with us.
Silex support team is going to send the download instruction no later than 7 days after the request. Please allow us to take a couple of days to review the request.
Is a SX-SDMAH in mini-PCIe card form-factor available?
We are working on it with our partners.
Does Silex's Wi-Fi HaLow solution support the power saving modes?
We will support the power saving mode with our upcoming driver/firmware update for SX-SDMAH. The AP-150AH and AP-100AH can control the DTIM interval to enable Wi-Fi power saving mode.
Please contact us to learn more about other power saving options.
Can the SX-SDMAH be driven from a USB host interface of my host controller?
Currently we are working on enable such solution.
Which antennas are recommended for SX-SDMAH?
The SX-SDMAH-US is certified with the following antenna. Please consult with us to use different type of antennas or higher gain antenna.
| Vendor |
Model No. |
Antenna Type |
Antenna Gain [dBi] |
| ethertronics |
X9000984-4GDSMB |
ROD |
3.4 |
What are the possible connections among Silex's Wi-Fi HaLow products?
As of today, following connectivity options are possible.
AP-150AH - EX-150AH
AP-150AH - BR-100AH
AP-100AH - EX-150AH
AP-100AH - BR-100AH
SX-SDMAH-EVK (AP mode) - EX-150AH/BR-100AH
AP-150AH - SX-SDMAH-EVK (STA mode)
AP-100AH - SX-SDMAH-EVK (STA mode)
Please consult with us to get a firmware of 100AH series to be interoperable with 150AH series or SX-SDMAH-EVK.
We are under evaluation of the mesh capability of SX-SDMAH.
Can I connect Wi-Fi devices to Wi-Fi HaLow network?
Wi-Fi devices cannot connect to a Wi-Fi HaLow access point directly, but you can use the EX-150AH to bridge between your Wi-Fi device and the Wi-Fi HaLow network.
Learn more about EX-150AH.
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