Decentralized Connectivity: Comparing Mainstream Infrastructure and Private Mobile Networks

5G Base Station

Just as mobile app developers build specialized applications for smartphones, James E. Smith LLC specializes in creating software-defined radio (SDR) applications and devices for people or companies that require advanced RF communication tools.

While we often think of mobile phones as “wireless,” most carrier infrastructure still relies on wired backhaul. For example, a 5G small cell may provide ultra-fast connectivity to users, but the data eventually travels over fiber optic cables to the carrier’s core network—and beyond.

Mainstream carriers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile depend on their robust fiber networks to support mobile services. These fiber-backed small base stations, which are commonly seen in dense urban areas, allow for ultra-fast connectivity through direct line-of-sight with extremely strong signals. This setup ensures that data can be transmitted at high speeds, using complex modulation techniques like high-order Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM).

These small base stations, typically covering short ranges (about one city block), handle dozens of connections simultaneously and support multiple communication technologies.

This dense infrastructure allows carriers to:

• Deliver high-capacity, low-latency service

• Support advanced data modulation schemes with extremely fast speeds

• Manage synchronization and handoffs across a city-wide network

While large carriers rely on centralized fiber networks and core systems, private mobile networks can achieve similar communication capabilities in more constrained environments, using purely RF links and often employing mesh networking techniques.

In mesh mode, each node forwards traffic to others, effectively acting as a “micro base station.” This decentralized design allows messages to take multiple paths, ensuring that if one path fails, the message will still reach its destination. This redundancy makes private networks more robust and capable of self-healing. If one node goes offline, the network can reroute messages through other nodes, maintaining connectivity even in challenging RF environments.

Devices in private mobile networks are generally larger because they need:

• Higher-gain antennas for reliable communication between nodes

• Stronger transmit power and larger batteries, due to the lack of wired backhaul

• Enough processing power to handle mesh routing, encryption, and message verification

In these networks, each device takes on a role that, in mainstream mobile networks, would typically be handled by centralized base stations. In essence, each device acts as a miniature, portable piece of 5G infrastructure. While the constraints of private networks make them technically challenging—requiring careful management of power, antennas, and routing—this decentralized design enables flexible, deployable solutions that serve different needs from traditional carrier networks.