Meter’s end-to-end platform is built to be robust, highly adaptable, and capable of delivering a holistic network experience. Our ability to iterate and deliver cutting-edge new products is exemplified by Connect and Command — two product lines that were seamlessly introduced to the Meter ecosystem in order to deliver greater value and utility to our customers. In the same vein, we’re excited to announce the latest addition to our Meter product family, Cellular.
Bringing reliable cell coverage inside office parks and buildings, hospitals, universities, warehouses, and parking garages today is incredibly difficult, time consuming, and costly. It requires intensive equipment build-outs, thick coaxial cabling, and, depending on the complexity of the space, millions of dollars in upfront capital. With Cellular, organizations can easily gain access to high quality, cost-effective connectivity for any space.
Traditionally, in-building cellular coverage is delivered by two types of Distributed Antenna System (DAS) – active and passive DAS. Active DAS is the go-to solution for large venues and enterprise spaces today, but requires heavy upfront capital, installation times measured in months, and significant coordination for the space’s technical team. Passive DAS is a more affordable option that amplifies existing cellular signal from the nearest cell tower. However, passive DAS is only as strong as the capacity and coverage of that tower, making it weak and inconsistent. Wi-Fi calling attempts to fill the gap between the two, but is often unreliable, leaving most enterprises left choosing between costly or inadequate systems.
Meter Cellular offers a hybrid solution that combines the best of all cellular solutions on the market today. It brings high quality signal and a straightforward installation that leverages Meter’s infrastructure, expertise, and existing partnerships with high quality installers, to deliver comprehensive and cost-effective cell coverage inside buildings, underground, or in remote areas. Each Meter Cellular Access Point connects to the Meter Network using a single ethernet cable, enabling us to install Cellular within a matter of weeks, reducing installation costs of complex and unwieldy active DAS solutions by 20x. If a space can have Wi-Fi installed, it can have Meter Cellular installed—it’s that simple.
Cellular iterates on technology pioneered by Meta in 2023, and runs on the CBRS frequency (3.55 GHz to 3.7 GHz). CBRS was released by the FCC in 2019 to improve wireless broadband capacity and enable a variety of wireless services. It’s supported by all cell phones made in the last five years. By integrating with cell carriers to broadcast their networks on the Meter equipment installed in your space, Cellular can deliver perfect cell coverage across your entire operation. To the end user, connection on Cellular is no different than what they would see if they were connected to their local cell tower — 5 bars of native coverage from their preferred carrier.
With the addition of Cellular, Meter offers a complete connectivity experience for your space. From ISP management, routing, switching, wireless, security, DNS security, VPN, SD-WAN, and now cell coverage — everything is built for the modern enterprise and delivered as-a-service.
Cellular will be billed by the square foot, per month. Whether you need coverage for a multi-million-square-foot warehouse or thousands of small retail chains, Cellular can scale effortlessly to fit your needs. Cellular is in beta as of today, and will be generally available in January 2025. To learn more, visit our webpage.