Aproximación de un radio enlace PTP para misión crítica en Retail

Abstract

Digital transformation has redefined connectivity expectations, demanding network architectures that are not only fast but exceptionally robust. This paradigm is a challenge for missioncritical applications, where the congested radio spectrum degrades service quality. The retail sector is a clear example,where operations (payment processing, inventory, promotions) are entirely dependent on stable connections. An interruption, however brief, translates into direct economic losses. This behavior is accentuated in Colombia, where according to the Financial Superintendence[1], for the first quarter of 2025, 66% of all monetary operations were carried out via the Internet and mobile applications. This paper addresses this challenge in a hostile environment: a convention center where high-density crowds saturate mobile networks. Internal survey data validates the problem: 85% of attendees report connection failures, and over 80% of digital transactions take more than 2 minutes, affecting point-of-sale operations. To ensure business continuity, the feasibility of a 2.3 km point-to-point (PTP) radio link is proposed and analyzed. Specifically, a high-availability network architecture is designed, consisting of: • A primary link in the 60 GHz band, immune to interference from the shared spectrum. • A backup link in the 5 GHz band to mitigate atmospheric effects. The solution is managed by Layer 3 failover with IP SLA for near-instantaneous recovery and unifies the networks of both points using a VXLAN overlay, ensuring deterministic connectivity isolated from the public network chaos.