Tenda O6 — 10km 5GHz 16dBi 11AC 867Mbps Gigabit Outdoor CPE

Buying it, and when not to

The O6 is a 10km 5GHz 16dBi 11AC 867Mbps gigabit outdoor CPE - the NanoM5 class. Ten kilometres of rated range, a 16dBi directional antenna, and a gigabit port so the radio rather than the Ethernet is the limit.

This is the long-link unit for real distance: across a town, from a mast to an estate, from a head office to a site several kilometres out, or as the backhaul feeding a cluster of hotspots. The gigabit port matters more than it first appears - on a link intended to carry a whole site's traffic, a 100Mbps port would cap it below what the radio can do. Use it in pairs, and site both ends with clear line of sight; at these distances obstruction, not the radio, is what kills links.

For links under about five kilometres, the O3S is cheaper and gives perfectly good headroom - this unit's extra reach is only worth paying for if the distance needs it. For links beyond ten kilometres, the 23dBi O9 is the correct choice, and again leave headroom rather than running at the rated limit. On obstructed paths, no amount of 5GHz gain substitutes for line of sight; consider the 2.4GHz O3 for short obstructed hops. And this is still a point-to-point radio, not an access point for outdoor coverage.