FreeSpeak IP Transceivers provide more capacity and flexibility
FreeSpeak IP connected Transceivers supported by Arcadia, FreeSpeak Edge Base Station and Eclipse E-IPA allow higher capacity of beltpacks with 10 beltpacks per transceivers. In the 1.9GHz frequency range they additionally double the capacity of beltpacks within the constraints of the RF spectrum (in the air). FreeSpeak IP connected Transceivers can be connected anywhere on an AES67 capable network infrastructure without needing dedicated point to point cabling like with directly E1 connected FreeSpeak Transceivers which are otherwise simple and easy to use plug-and-play.

What is the “AES67 Capable Network” required for FreeSpeak IP Tranceivers ?

AES67 Capable Networks have the following prerequisites:

• AES67 Capable Switches

  • QoS - Prioritization Configuration

  • PTP - Stable & Prioritized Clock

  • IGMP Snooping - Internal Traffic Management

  • VLAN - Physical Traffic Segregation

• IP Addressing Scheme

  • Fixed IP Address for the System Host (Arcadia, FSE-BASE, E-IPA)

  • Dynamic DHCP IP Addresses for FreeSpeak IP Transceivers

• Network Topology Limits

  • Stay within the 2 hop limit from PTP Leader to FS IP Transceivers!

• Review Clear-Com’s AoIP Documentation

  • Arcadia and FreeSpeak Edge Base Station IP Networking Guide - Quick & High Level

  • AoIP Network Recommendations - Detailed Description

Why do FreeSpeak IP connected Transceivers REQUIRE higher network performance?
Networks come in all sorts of sizes and capabilities with switches ranging in price from tens of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. Networks consisting of inexpensive switches will not give high performance. Networks consisting of moderately to expensive switches that are deployed beyond their limits with will not give high performance.

Networks for real-time media such as audio, video, streaming lighting control and their likes require high network performance to ensure that our media and control gets delivered without interruption to its destination. This is managed by software tools that run on managed switches and include PTP for clocking to assemble the content, QoS management to prioritize the most important traffic and in the receiver a latency inducing jitter buffer to manage inherent variables in our networks and connected devices.
All of these mechanisms must run smoothly within their tolerances for good system performance.

Wireless intercom systems that operate high capacity of beltpacks which can roam between multiple transceivers connected over a network has higher requirements from its networks. Obviously the correct intercom audio must be available at the correct transceiver, in both directions, to be delivered to the beltpacks and then move to a different transceiver as the user “roams” around without the user noticing.
Beyond getting the audio via a network to transceivers the RF transmission needs to be tightly managed so that all of the transceivers start the over the air transmission at the same time, without which the beltpack cannot see or therefore not roam between different transceivers. This mechanism requires a very high-performance network to ensure audio is delivered to the correct transceiver at the right time and that synchronicity is maintained over the air to the beltpacks. Networks that are deployed beyond their limits will not provide this performance.