Cradlepoint R2100 Series 5G Ruggedised Router

Cradlepoint has announced the R2100 Series 5G Ruggedised Router. Built for vehicle and IoT networks, the sleek exterior-mounted solution provides mass transit, public safety and other organisations that require a high-bandwidth IoT or mobile router with the latest cellular performance in a flexible and simplified form factor.

Designed to be mounted on the rooftop of a vehicle or attached to IoT cabinet enclosures, the R2100 integrates the modem, antennas and router into a single aerodynamic, IP67-rated casing that guards against weather, vibration and shock. The product is sold with or without Wi-Fi 6 and can be deployed as a self-contained router or to supplement an existing router as a 5G adapter. Since antenna cables are no longer needed, many vehicle installations will only require one power cable and a single small hole to the router on the roof, reducing installation complexity and cost.

The router is powered by Cradlepoint NetCloud, providing an enterprise-class, unified edge security solution for in-vehicle and IoT networks. For example, NetCloud gives vital public service agencies end-to-end encryption, threat detection and defence functionality to enable secure direct cloud and internet access for applications and IoT devices, with or without Wi-Fi. The router can also support the NetCloud Exchange services which provide zero trust network access and 5G-optimised SD-WAN.

The router is designed to support local containers for edge computing functionality. NetCloud handles container creation as well as container and workload distribution and connectivity, making deploying edge computing applications a simple and more secure process.

Users can add 5G to a current installation by deploying the product in Captive Modem mode as an adapter that is controlled by an attached Cradlepoint router. The NetCloud management system treats the device as an internal modem, eliminating the need for a separate licence.

Similar to Cradlepoint’s Captive Modem capability, the router can serve as an additional Wi-Fi source in captive mode to expand coverage for applications such as video offload, enhanced customer broadband, computer-aided dispatch connectivity while in the station and more. Adding this Wi-Fi capability won’t incur an additional expense as all control and licensing is attributed to the incumbent router.