What is Cisco Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul (CURWB) — and why do we need it when traditional wireless already exists? If you’ve ever worked in environments where machines are constantly moving — ports, mines, factories, terminals — you know one thing for sure:
The biggest issue is that when a client roams between access points, it can cause brief disconnections. For critical applications, even a momentary dropout is unacceptable. We’ve seen this firsthand. Everything works fine until a crane moves from one AP to another and suddenly loses connection mid-operation.
A single dropped packet might not look serious on paper, but in the real world it can mean:
- A crane operator losing visibility
- An AGV triggering an emergency stop
- A production line coming to a halt
- A remote vehicle going into fail-safe mode
And every second of downtime is money lost, That’s when the real question becomes clear:
Why are we still treating industrial mobility the same way we treat office Wi-Fi?
Why is CURWB Important?
Automation is growing across industries. Autonomous vehicles, robots, and teleremote applications are becoming more prevalent as industrial organisations digitize their operations. Reliable wireless technologies are critical to the success of these deployments.
Mobile assets cannot tolerate dropped connections or network latency; lost packets can jeopardize safety, create line stoppages, and compromise productivity, with severe operational and financial consequences.
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CURWB is all about delivering data with minimal disruptions and lightning-fast response times. It relies on advanced wireless technologies to connect remote sites to the core network, ensuring that data gets through when it matters most.
Reliable wireless also brings greater flexibility to the environment, while also potentially reducing costs and installation times to connect fixed assets. Fiber isn’t available everywhere and can be prohibitively expensive to deploy and maintain. By using wireless technology:
- Factories can easily reconfigure product lines and adapt quickly to changing market demands.
- Ports, mines, and rail can extend their connectivity to wherever they need it to increase automation and provide critical services.
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CURWB usually falls into the following use cases:
- Connectivity where fiber isn’t available or is too costly
- Connectivity for moving assets
- Tele-Remote Operations in mines and Ports
- Automated Guided vehicles(AGVs) and cobots
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ASSOCIATED BLOGS:
For a bit of side reading on the most common Wi-Fi issues, take a look at The Top 8 Secrets to Great Wi-Fi
What makes CURWB Ultra-Reliable?
CURWB uses advanced features to keep connections stable and fast, even in challenging environments. There are four key characteristics that make CURWB truly ultra-reliable.
Make-before-break:
- Make-before-break handoff ensures connectivity is established with a new AP before dropping connectivity from the previous AP
- Overlay technology emulates a virtual switch over 802.11 wireless links, to extend ultra-low latency (<10ms) for fixed or Mobile assets.
- MPO duplicates high priority packets over up to 8 different paths on uncorrelated frequencies at the same time to multiple access points
- Successful failover in less than 500ms for a carrier-grade availability
ASSOCIATED BLOGS:
CURWB Architecture
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MESH END (CORE MPLS Gateways):
The mesh end functions as a gateway between the wireless and wired network. Mesh ends can also be thought of as MPLS label edge routers (LERs) on the infrastructure network.
They are responsible for encapsulating the traffic coming from the wired network into the fluidity overlay network using MPLS, and de-encapsulating MPLS and delivering standalone datagrams onto the wired network.
They are connected to the Core Network infrastructure, Cisco has 2x different products can be used as Mesh ends. For small deployments IW9167EH can be used as Mesh end Gateway where large scale deployments needed IEC6400 as Mesh end gateway.
MESH POINT (Access Radio):
The mesh point is where traffic enters the fluidity network from a vehicle or connected endpoint. Mesh points are positioned to maximise the RF coverage for vehicles that need wireless connectivity.
All mesh points are tied to a single mesh end (or to a pair of mesh ends in redundant mode) and all mesh points that are connected to a mesh end form a wireless cluster, IW9167/IW9165 can be used as a Meshpoint on Fixed infrastructure.
VEHICLE RADIO (Fluidity Radio):
The vehicle radio is a mesh point that is configured to provide wireless connectivity from one vehicle to the network infrastructure. Vehicle radios forms wireless backhauls with all available fixed infra structure radios
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Cisco URWB Use Case
At IPTel, we’ve deployed Cisco URWB solution across ports, mines, and terminals, and the story is the same every time:
Customers came to us with challenges like:
- High Fiber Cost
- Roaming and density issues for mobile RTGs and Cranes can impact production and cause stops
- Need for ultra-reliable communication to tele-remote control RTGs and Cranes with high bandwidth requirements and support industrial protocols
To address these challenges, we implemented CURWB with the Cisco Catalyst IW9167E Heavy Duty Access Point
This Access Point includes three 4x4 radios and eight external antenna connectors, supporting AP, URWB, and WGB software options.
It delivers reliable wireless connectivity for mission-critical applications as organizations continue to automate processes and operations.
The IW9167E is a tri-band 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) access point built in a heavy-duty, IP67-rated design and equipped with advanced features for industrial environments.
Below is the CURWB fixed mesh point deployed on-site using horn antennas.
Below is the CURWB vehicle Mesh point deployed on-site with OMNI Antennas.
Read more about how we implemented CURWB in our DP World Case Study
ASSOCIATED BLOGS:
Cisco Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul Explained: Summary
Traditional wireless solutions were never designed for the demands of modern industrial environments. When machines, vehicles, and critical systems are constantly on the move, even a split-second network dropout can lead to costly downtime, safety risks, and operational chaos.
Cisco Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul bridges this gap by delivering seamless handoffs, ultra-low latency, and carrier-grade reliability—without the limitations of fibre or conventional Wi-Fi.
As industries accelerate towards automation and remote operations, CURWB isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s an essential foundation for keeping assets connected, productive, and safe.
Whether it’s ports, mines, or factories, the message is clear: reliable wireless isn’t optional anymore—it’s mission-critical.
If you'd like to talk to us about undertaking CURWB for your business, drop us a line on our quote request form: https://info.iptel.com.au/request-a-quote
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