Case Study: Penvale Lakes

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Penvale Lakes is a beautiful location in Llangollen, North Wales, consisting of 12 holiday lodges in an idyllic setting. We were first contacted by them when their aging wireless system used to supply internet to their holiday lodges started to fail. After a detailed site assessment, we were commissioned to overhaul site communications, providing each lodge with a much more robust secure system, with higher speeds and ability to deal with trees blocking line of sight more effectively.
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Penvale Lakes, luxury holiday lodges in Llangollen, North Wales.
During the planning phase it was clear that while many of the lodges could be fed directly from an omni directional mast fitted at the main reception building, the lodges at the far end of the site would have too many trees along the route.
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Main reception is able to directly supply lodges 6-12 via wireless PtMP data bridge.
Lodges 1-4 were beyond reach for the reception wireless distribution mast due to excessive tree density. To overcome this we used lodge 5 as a relay with a special Point to Point unit. Lodge 1 also acts as a relay for a cottage on top of a hill which is supplied via a fibre optic cable as this is the only way through the dense trees. Our client is also able to charge the resident of the cottage for broadband access.
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Lodge 5 served via PtP, then relays PtMP to lodges 1-4 + the cottage on the hill.
The main reception at Penvale Lakes is much taller than first appears and would be host to the long range/high speed wireless building bridge equipment that would be required to serve the holiday lodges throughout the site. The reception is also supplied by a BT fibre leased line which, with the correct managed switch equipment be can be securely segregated and shared safely between many onsite residents.
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We knew this was the right spot as our 28 ft ladders barely reached.
Height is key for successful building to building wireless data links. The cost to give each lodge its own dedicated BT internet connection could run into tens of thousands with installation, line/broadband rental and likely need poles and/or surfaces to be excavated, our solution was less disruptive and much more cost effective. The main reception already having ultrafast fibre internet meant using this this to supply the 12 lodges makes good economic sense, keeping ongoing costs low.
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Lodges 10 & 11 visible from main reception in this photo, 12 is just out of sight.
We used a high gain Point to Point unit for Lodge 5 (corresponding unit fitted on main reception building). This was able to provide a 650mpbs link through the trees from main reception. The feed to lodge 5 is then relayed to the remaining lodges 1-4 via another Point to Multi Point unit and mast similar to the one fitted at reception.
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This unit fitted on the apex of Lodge 5’s roof is able to provide a reliable 650mpbs link.
Each lodge is fitted with an external ‘station’ unit connecting to either the reception or Lodge 5 PtMP masts. In PtMP mode they can achieve a reliable 300mbps which is plenty of capacity for staff & guests in each of the lodges and potential future devices such as CCTV cameras.
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PtMP ‘station’ unit pointed towards reception achieves 300mpbs.
The final piece of the puzzle is the wireless access points (AP), located inside each of the lodges along with main reception. It’s the part that the guests connect their Wi-Fi devices to, so must be easy to use, fast & robust. To this end we used reliable dual band units featuring fast 5Ghz & 2.4Ghz long range Wi-Fi radios to cover both inside & outside the lodges.
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We always seek to minimise the visible impact that equipment can have and conceal cables.
We think the luxury holiday accommodation at Penvale Lakes is really special, with the Lodges comfortable and well furnished. The site is also pet friendly and naturally the free onsite Wi-Fi fast & strong.
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The holiday lodges at Penvale Lakes are beautiful, you won’t want to leave.
Of course, you’ll also want to get out to see the rest of Llangollen and visit the sights & trails like Horseshoe Pass, Horseshoe Falls, Castell Dinas Brân, Valle Crucis Abbey, Llangollen Bridge, the local museums and try some of the many great places to eat.
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Pontcysyllte Aqueduct & Canal World Heritage site.