Cisco 4G LTE 2.5 Enhanced High-Speed Wireless WAN Interface Cards for Asia, Australia, and selected Latin America Regions

The Cisco^® 4G LTE 2.5 Enhanced High-Speed Wireless WAN Interface Cards (EHWICs) for Cisco ISR G2 provide the next generation of Wireless WAN primary, backhaul, or backup solutions.

Product Overview

Fourth-Generation Long-Term Evolution (4G LTE) is being used to provide both primary connectivity and network resiliency for business continuity. With greater agility and speed to deployment than wired solutions, 4G LTE reduces network cost and complexity while maintaining ROI. Practical applications of 4G LTE for distributed enterprises include parallel networks, primary connection, failover, in-vehicle, network convergence, and wireless WAN diversity. The Cisco 4G LTE EHWICs for Integrated Services Routers Generation 2 (ISR G2) are the industry leaders in bringing enterprise-grade wire-line-like functionality such as quality of service (QoS) for cellular, Multi-VRF for cellular, and unified communications solutions over LTE.

The Cisco 4G LTE EHWICs (Figure 1) are the first enterprise-class multimode 4G LTE wireless WAN (WWAN) solution. With 4G LTE, WWAN is a primary WAN link solution. Businesses can now run applications such as interactive video and telepresence on a primary 4G LTE WWAN link, which is 10 to 15 times faster and has 5 times lower latency than 3G links. These cards support the latest Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 8 Category 4 LTE standards. Cisco multimode 4G LTE WWAN EHWICs provide persistent, reliable LTE connectivity with fallback and transparent handoff to earlier technologies. The cards provide bandwidth to support high-definition (HD) and peer-to-peer (P2P) video calls, providing customers with an excellent mobile broadband experience. The Cisco 4G LTE WWAN EHWICs are tightly integrated with the services provided on the award-winning Cisco ISR G2 devices, which deliver secure data, voice, video, and mobility services. The EHWICs are supported on the modular Cisco 1900, 2900, and 3900 Series ISR G2 devices.

Enterprises are looking for ways to reduce deployment time, enable comprehensive media services, increase revenue, and improve business continuity. The Cisco 4G LTE WWAN EHWICs, when coupled with a service provider’s wireless data plan, provide a rapidly deployable, high-bandwidth, reliable, and secure solution for branch offices and remote sites. With 4G LTE data rates, the Cisco 4G LTE WWAN EHWICs offer a primary WAN link solution capable of running comprehensive branch-office services, including voice and video services.

The Cisco 4G LTE WWAN EHWICs include the following models:

●   EHWIC-LTE-LA, EHWIC-LTE-CI, and EHWIC-LTE-JN: Multimode LTE 2.5 for carriers that operate FDD LTE 700-MHz (band 28), 850-MHz (band 5 CLR), 850-MHz (bands 18 and 19 Low), 900-MHz (band 8), 1500-MHz (band 21), 1800-MHz (band 3), 2100-MHz (band 1), or 2600-MHz (band 7) networks; the multimode Cisco 890G Series 4G LTE 2.5 ISRs are backward-compatible with Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) and Dual-Carrier High-Speed Packet Access Plus (DC-HSPA+): 800 MHz (band 19 Japan), 850 MHz (band 5), 850 MHz (band 6 Japan), 900 MHz (band 8), 1800 MHz (band 9), 2100 MHz (band 1), and TD-SCDMA 39.

◦     Multimode LTE 2.5 for carriers that operate TDD LTE 1900 MHz (band 39), 230 MHz (band 40), 2500 MHz (band 41), or 2600 MHz (band 38).

◦     Multimode LTE 2.5 for carrier aggregation band combinations: 1+(8,18,19,21); 3+(5,7,19,28); 7+(5,7,28); 19+21, 38+38, 39+39, 40+40, 41+41.

With enhanced data rates and improved latency, WWAN services are an ideal way to replace or supplement traditional wire-line services. 4G LTE WWAN data services offered today have theoretical limits of Category 4 150 Mbps on the downlink and 50 Mbps on the uplink. The actual data speed depends on the service provider’s network. 4G LTE WWAN data services are an alternative in areas in which broadband services either are not available or are very expensive. Cisco is building on these performance milestones and adding support for wireless to our wide variety of WAN interface alternatives.

Main Business Benefits

Primary connectivity: The Cisco multimode 4G LTE WWAN EHWICs provide persistent, reliable LTE connectivity with fallback and transparent handoff to earlier technologies. They enable high-performance, secure, reliable, and transparent multimedia applications anywhere and anytime and allow customers to deploy and manage the same device for multiple applications, simplifying deployment and management. For businesses requiring rapid setup or temporary connectivity, 4G LTE WWAN offers the ability to deploy a new site quickly. Using the integrated services available on the Cisco ISRs, the EHWICs can provide instant and mobile communications during disasters and service outages. Figure 2 illustrates the use of 4G LTE for primary connectivity.

WAN Backup: Resilient WAN access is a crucial requirement for branch offices connecting to a corporate site or the Internet. Although DSL, Frame Relay, ISDN, and dialup are common choices for backup if a primary WAN link fails, a nonterrestrial data path such as a 4G LTE WWAN provides enhanced WAN diversity (Figures 3). Cisco 4G LTE WWAN EHWICs, combined with the Cisco ISRs, offer the capability to automatically initiate connection over the 4G LTE WWAN when the primary WAN link is unavailable. In addition, you can use Cisco 4G LTE WWAN the EHWICs to provide supplemental bandwidth when the primary WAN link is overloaded (Figure 4).

Main Features and Benefits

●   Integrated 4G LTE WWAN broadband: With the 4G LTE WWAN modem integrated into the router, you gain the benefits of simplified installation and management. In addition, the Cisco 4G LTE WWAN EHWICs are tightly integrated with Cisco ISRs, which run the industry-leading Cisco IOS^® Software, giving access to all the advanced features of Cisco IOS Software, such as QoS, intelligent network queuing, and robust security.

●   Performance: With increasing data use and the proliferation of web-based applications at remote sites, there is an increasing need for high-speed (broadband) data connections to run mission-critical applications at these sites. 4G LTE WWAN services promise low-latency links at high speeds.

●   Short installation time: Businesses sometimes have to wait weeks or months to get data circuits installed at new locations. For temporary or seasonal sites, wireless data services allow instant connectivity anywhere there is cellular coverage, and rapid deployment allows you to quickly set up networks with WAN connectivity.

●   Network resiliency through WAN diversity: WAN connectivity is crucial to the functioning of your business, where any downtime means a loss of productivity and lost opportunity. Staying connected and operational during a network outage can be vital. A wireless connection for backup to a remote site provides protection against line outages and an additional level of redundancy, because the 4G LTE WWAN infrastructure is often served by separate facilities, providing redundancy for the entire local loop. With 4G LTE WWAN, Cisco Intelligent WAN (IWAN) provides transport-independent, intelligent path control, application optimization, and secure connectivity on any device, over any connection, and to any cloud.

●   Portability: You can easily relocate wireless routers and Cisco 4G LTE WWAN EHWICs wherever coverage is available.

●   Multiple packet data networks: You can configure multiple active access point names (APNs) so that Internet traffic can be kept separate from corporate traffic.

Entrerprise-Grade WAN Features for 4G LTE

●   4G LTE multiple-bearer QoS for cellular: The 4G LTE EHWIC supports 4G LTE multiple-bearer QoS (Figure 5). Detailed information on the bearer is displayed by the “show” command, SNMP-MIBs, etc. The QoS feature must be launched by a service provider.

●   Multi-VRF for cellular: 4G LTE EHWICs now support Multi-VRF for cellular networks. Multi-VRF is a Cisco proprietary implementation over and above the 3GPP specification and requires a Cisco ASR 5000 Packet Gateway (PGW) as the head end at the service provider’s network. The Multi-VRF feature is service provider dependent, and requires a service provider to launch this service.

●   Enterprise-grade unified communications solutions over LTE: The 4G LTE EHWIC now supports voice and video and can be integrated with Cisco Unified Communications cloud or premises-based infrastructure.

●   Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) search: User equipment (UE) presents the end user with available PLMN search manually. UE can optimize PLMN searches using stored information such as RF carriers and cell parameters.

Product Specifications

Table 1 provides specifications for the Cisco 4G LTE 2.5 WWAN EHWICs, and Table 2 provides antenna specifications.

Table 1.       Specifications for the Cisco 4G LTE 2.5 WWAN EHWICs Among Region Theaters

Please note: LTE Category 4 download/upload speeds depend on specific carrier channel bandwidth and carrier LTE network provisioning. Cisco LTE 2.5 EHWIC performance also depends on specific ISR G2 platform scalability with services.

Table 2.       Antenna Specifications

* –N antenna works with –N cables and –N lighting arrestor

Ordering Information

To place an order, refer to Tables 3 through 5 and visit the Cisco Ordering home page.

Table 3.       Cisco 4G LTE WWAN EHWICs Ordering Information

Table 4.       Antenna Ordering Information

Note:    All 4G LTE EHWICs (including spares) ship with dual 4G-LTE-ANTM-D and dual extender 4G-AE010-R.

Mobile IP requires a separate APP or AX license.

Service and Support

Cisco offers a wide range of services programs to accelerate customer success. These innovative services programs are delivered through a unique combination of people, processes, tools, and partners, resulting in high levels of customer satisfaction. Cisco Services help you protect your network investment, optimize network operations, and prepare your network for new applications to extend network intelligence and the power of your business. For more information about Cisco Services, refer to Cisco Technical Support Services and Cisco Advanced Services.

Warranty Information

The Cisco 4G LTE EHWICs have a 90-day limited liability warranty.

Cisco and Partner Services for the Branch

Services from Cisco and our certified partners can help you transform the branch-office experience and accelerate business innovation and growth in Enterprise Networks. We have the depth and breadth of expertise to create a clear, replicable, optimized branch-office footprint across technologies. Planning and design services align technology with business goals and can increase the accuracy, speed, and efficiency of deployment. Technical services can help you improve operational efficiency, save money, and mitigate risk. Optimization services are designed to continuously improve performance and help your team succeed with new technologies. For more information, please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/services.

For More Information

For more information about the Cisco 4G LTE WWAN EHWICs, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/4g or contact your local Cisco account representative.

For configuration guidance, see http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/routers/access/interfaces/software/feature/guide/EHWIC-4G-LTESW.html.

For installation guidance (-N antenna and cable), see http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/modules/ps5949/ps11540/ehwic_4g_ltehw.pdf

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/routers/connectedgrid/antennas/installing/Overview.html