Delivering reliable connectivity across large, remote properties is difficult for organizations operating fixed and mobile security systems. Public cellular service, fiber, and Wi-Fi typically can’t provide the necessary combination of coverage, capacity, and mobility.
A recent private 5G deployment at a 100,000-acre Rocky Mountain ranch spanning nearly 50 miles illustrates this challenge. Despite rugged terrain and infrastructure constraints, Alliance Corporation designed the architecture and coordinated multivendor integration for a single network supporting AI-enabled cameras and autonomous drones.
Moso Networks and Pente Networks supplied the radio access network (RAN) and 5G core technologies, respectively. Redtail Communications integrated the solution, and Nightingale Security provided the autonomous drone system.
One Network for Fixed and Mobile Security
The camera sites required network capacity for fire detection, thermal imaging, and facial and license plate recognition. The network also had to maintain connectivity with three autonomous drones that patrolled the perimeter and returned to automated docks to transfer data and recharge before resuming operation.
Rugged terrain and dense tree cover limited connectivity at remote security sites, where public cellular coverage was sparse. Extending fiber to cameras along a seven-to-eight-mile private road wasn’t practical.
These constraints ruled out the ranch’s initial options. Wi-Fi lacked the reach and mobility necessary for drone operations. The trail-camera system under consideration relied on radio backhaul and couldn’t provide enough bandwidth for advanced video analytics.
“The ranch needed one network to support remote camera sites and autonomous drones across challenging terrain,” said Brian Mehus, President and CEO, Redtail Communications, Inc. “Moso’s Canopy 5GOD2 outdoor radios gave us a cost-effective way to extend private 5G connectivity to both without running fiber to every endpoint.”
Validating Drone Connectivity Before Field Deployment
The project team knew the cameras could operate over the proposed private 5G network, but interoperability with the ranch’s selected drone system remained unverified.
To resolve that uncertainty, Dan Ortega, senior sales engineer at Alliance Corporation, traveled to Nightingale Security’s lab in Newark, California, and worked directly with its team. There, they connected the drone’s system to a Moso 5GOD1 outdoor eNodeB (eNB) and verified operation. The off-site test confirmed equipment interoperability before field deployment at the ranch, independently of site-specific variables such as terrain, power availability, and backhaul readiness.
“Autonomous security drones need reliable connectivity throughout their patrol areas,” explained Jack Wu, Co-Founder and CEO, Nightingale Security. “Off-site testing confirmed that our module could connect and operate over Moso’s private network before field integration, reducing integration risk and helping avoid costly troubleshooting at the ranch.”
Building the Private 5G Architecture
With drone interoperability confirmed, Alliance Corporation drew on its experience with previous Moso implementations to recommend Moso’s newer 5G platform and design the production architecture, pairing the Moso RAN with a Pente HyperCore 5G Core. The integrated approach reduced complexity for a CBRS network supporting cameras and mobile drones. Field deployment then proceeded in stages.
Site preparation came first. The ranch initially considered solar energy but chose to run power to each site, requiring approvals and extensive construction that accounted for most of the fieldwork. Once the power infrastructure was in place, Redtail Communications equipped each site with a rectifier, UPS backup, switching, an enclosure, and a tower, then installed the cameras and outdoor radios. Alliance Corporation worked alongside Redtail during network bring-up and commissioning. When the primary fiber backhaul was ready, Redtail connected the radio network to the 5G core.
“We designed the overall private 5G architecture and coordinated integration across the RAN, core, user equipment (UE), backhaul, camera platform, and remote sites,” stated Dan Ortega, senior sales engineer at Alliance Corporation. “That work brought technologies from Moso, Pente, Global Telecom, and Nightingale into one complete security network.”
Targeted Radio Coverage and Dual Backhaul
The ranch’s production network uses Moso Canopy 5GOD2 high-power outdoor gNodeBs (gNBs) operating in CBRS Band n48. Positioned along mountain edges, the radios target coverage at camera sites and throughout designated drone patrol areas rather than across the entire property.
“Private 5G allows operators to provide secure network access where public cellular service and Wi-Fi cannot deliver the required combination of coverage, capacity, and mobility,” said Stephen Leotis, CEO, Moso Networks. “At the ranch, the Canopy 5GOD2 outdoor radios extend reliable, high-speed connectivity to remote camera sites and designated drone patrol areas.”
Global Telecom Titan 5100 outdoor 5G UEs link remote security sites to the private network. The ESP platform manages the cameras and provides AI-enabled video surveillance and analytics for fire detection, thermal imaging, facial recognition, and license plate recognition. This configuration eliminates fiber runs to individual cameras and supports mobile connectivity for Nightingale’s autonomous drones.
The architecture separates private 5G radio access from primary and backup backhaul. Fiber carries primary backhaul traffic from the Moso RAN to the Pente HyperCore 5G Core; Starlink supplies a secondary path if fiber fails.
“HyperCore’s RAN-agnostic architecture simplifies the integration and management of multivendor private 5G networks,” said Jonathan Schwartz, CTO, Pente Networks. “At the ranch, the platform manages device access, data sessions, and mobility for camera-site UEs and autonomous drones on a single private network.
Read the full case study to learn how Alliance Corporation designed the network architecture and coordinated work across Moso Networks, Redtail Communications, Pente Networks, Nightingale Security, and Global Telecom to integrate, validate, and deploy private 5G connectivity for AI-enabled security systems at a remote Rocky Mountain ranch.
