(click for full resolution)

On 31 July 2026, Rapid.Space and its partner Geeflex completed a field test of the ORS B28 all-in-one base station in a suburban area. Three ORS were deployed to form north, west and east sectors. The test focused on rapid deployment, three-sector networking, high-capacity user access, mobility and the wide-area coverage capabilities of the B28 band.

The results showed that, even under non-ideal conditions with the base-station antennas mounted only approximately 3 to 4 metres above ground and with bends and local slope obstructions along the road, ORS B28 provided effective coverage beyond 1 kilometre in the east sector, where line-of-sight conditions were more favourable. At approximately 1 kilometre from the base station, the test device remained stably connected and achieved measured throughput of up to 15.4 Mbps downlink and 7.9 Mbps uplink.

(click for full resolution)

Three ORS deployed on site to form a three-sector base station.

Spectrum Survey Before Deployment

To identify available spectrum at the test site, the team first installed an SDR receiver inside the test vehicle and placed the receiving antenna outside. The vehicle was driven along the test route while the SDR continuously scanned the spectrum.

Based on the survey results, an available 10 MHz channel centred at 797 MHz was selected for the LTE FDD Band 28 test.

This process demonstrates the flexibility of ORS for field deployment: the team can rapidly assess the local radio environment and then configure the operating frequency and base stations according to actual spectrum occupancy.

(click for full resolution)

Spectrum scanning from the test vehicle before deployment.

Three ORS Forming Three Sectors

The test used three 2 × 1 W ORS B28 units. Each unit served one sector, covering the north, west or east direction. All three sectors operated simultaneously on the same frequency.

One ORS hosted the LTE core network, while the other two connected to it over an IP network, creating a complete three-sector mobile network. This architecture removes the need for a separate core-network server and simplifies field installation, networking and operation.

Each sector was configured to support up to 500 UEs, with the complete system intended for a deployment of approximately 1,000 users. Rather than focusing only on peak throughput for a single user, this configuration prioritised high-capacity access, coverage and system stability.

During the test, devices moving between sectors completed cell handovers successfully. Changes in the PCI observed on the test devices confirmed that they had moved to adjacent sectors while service connectivity remained active.

(click for full resolution)

Sector orientation and field antenna installation.

Kilometre-Scale Coverage with Low Antenna Height

The base stations used a 2 × 2 MIMO configuration. Each ORS was connected to two 12 dBi panel antennas mounted approximately 3 to 4 metres above ground. The test bandwidth was 10 MHz, and the measured output power of each radio channel was approximately 26.265 dBm.

Transmit power was deliberately reduced by approximately 3 dB because the target deployment will use a 20 MHz channel, while only 10 MHz of available spectrum could be used during this field test. With this reduction, the power spectral density of the 10 MHz test was closer to that of the future 20 MHz system, making the coverage results more representative.

The test road descended gradually and included bends, corners and minor slope obstructions. The base station had near-line-of-sight propagation towards the principal test points, but the environment was not an ideal open-field test site.

A Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was used as the primary test device, while a Huawei Mate 30 Pro was used to verify network access. At every measurement point, the vehicle was stopped and the measurements were taken outside the vehicle. Throughput was measured against an iperf server deployed on the local core-network side. Distances are straight-line distances between each test point and the base station.

The principal results for the east sector were as follows:

The throughput values at each location are averages measured over test windows lasting several seconds. Because of bends in the road, local slope obstructions and differences in device position, throughput did not decrease strictly in proportion to distance. For example, the RSRP measured at 800 metres was lower than at some of the 1-kilometre points. This confirms that real-world coverage depends not only on distance, but also on local terrain and the propagation path.

(click for full resolution)

Test route and measurement points at different distances from the base station.

Antenna Performance Has a Direct Impact on Coverage

The team also tested a pair of glass-mounted antennas with approximately 6 dBi gain. These antennas were installed on the base-station side, with two antennas connected to one ORS.

At approximately 500 metres, the measured RSRP with the glass-mounted antennas was around −110 dBm. Their overall performance was clearly weaker than that of the 12 dBi panel antennas, so no longer-distance measurements were performed. Based on these preliminary results, this configuration appears more suitable for local coverage within approximately 500 metres, although additional measurement points are required to determine its actual coverage boundary.

This comparison shows that, with identical base-station radio performance, antenna gain, mounting method and installation position directly affect the system's coverage. Appropriate antenna selection and sound radio engineering are therefore essential for wide-area deployments.

(click for full resolution)

Comparison between the 12 dBi panel antennas and the 6 dBi glass-mounted antennas.

A Lightweight Network for High-Connection-Density Scenarios

The suburban field test validated several key capabilities of the ORS B28 solution:

• Three all-in-one ORS can rapidly form three LTE sectors.
• A single ORS can host the core network and serve the other base stations.
• Each sector can be configured to support up to 500 UEs.
• Three co-channel sectors can operate simultaneously.
• Devices can complete cell handovers between sectors while maintaining service.
• With low antenna height and non-ideal road conditions, the east sector delivered effective coverage beyond 1 kilometre.
• Even with transmit power reduced by 3 dB, usable uplink and downlink service was maintained at kilometre-scale locations.

The test confirmed the rapid-deployment and kilometre-scale coverage capabilities of ORS B28 in a suburban environment with non-ideal propagation conditions. From spectrum scanning and frequency selection to equipment installation, network activation and drive-route measurements, the complete process avoided the complex supporting infrastructure normally required by a conventional macro base station.

This all-in-one, rapidly deployable network can be used for temporary coverage in remote areas, industrial parks, mines, farms, emergency communications, construction sites and large events.

Where lawful spectrum resources and the required telecommunications authorisations are available, ORS can also be deployed in cooperation with licensed mobile operators, MVNOs, satellite Internet providers or private-network service providers. Such cooperation can combine equipment deployment, network operation and user services to provide per-user or usage-based connectivity in areas that lack conventional mobile coverage.

Future work will optimise antenna height and test routes, and will include longer-range measurements, multi-device concurrent-access tests, additional inter-sector handover tests and long-duration stability testing to evaluate ORS B28 more comprehensively under real deployment conditions.