Ultra-long-distance stable transmission: HaLowMesh extends the network farther

In the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, each hop of a Mesh network is usually planned at tens of meters. After the signal passes through two load-bearing walls, the transmission distance drops sharply. To cover a one-kilometer range, more than ten devices often need to be deployed; each data forwarding incurs losses in rate and latency, and if any intermediate device is blocked, all downstream nodes are affected.

TXW8301 adopts a lower operating frequency band. The chip operates from 730MHz to 950MHz, with a longer wavelength and better diffraction and penetration capabilities than the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The chip supports frequency-hopping communication, enhancing anti-interference performance. With +20dBm transmit power and 2/4/8MHz bandwidth configurations, the single-hop transmission distance is about 1.5 kilometers.

Actual deployment environments are not so ideal. Corners, metal shelves, multiple floors, and rows of equipment and vehicles all shorten the effective distance, so margins need to be reserved during network planning. Even so, for the same two-hop link, the coverage range of 2.4GHz and 5GHz is about more than 100 meters, while Wi-Fi HaLowTM+Mesh can easily reach more than two kilometers. Through multi-hop relaying, the coverage distance can be extended several times.

Wi-Fi HaLowTM+Mesh This networking capability is called HaLowMesh and is provided directly by the TXW8301 chip and module. In the network, one device acts as the root node and is responsible for connecting to the upper-layer network; the remaining devices act as child nodes. After power-on, they automatically search for available nodes to join the network, with no need to configure network parameters or set up each device individually.

After a node joins the network, automatic relaying comes into play. When a new node joins, it automatically selects the surrounding node with the best signal quality to attach to; once attached, that node also provides network access services to surrounding devices, allowing the network to expand outward layer by layer.

When a parent node goes offline, child nodes reselect their transmission path. A node that is transmitting service data can complete the switch in about two seconds; a node with no active service must wait for a timeout before switching, which takes longer. Therefore, in network planning, nodes at key points should remain in a communicating state to ensure reliable switching speed.

The security mechanism uses mutual certificate authentication: nodes and the root node verify each other's identity, and all communications are encrypted throughout. For networks such as electricity meters and power grid control, device access must have admission control, making the security layer indispensable.

After devices form a network, data that needs to be delivered in batches, such as firmware upgrades and broadcast control, is transmitted via multicast and does not need to be sent to each device individually.

Mesh has two topology forms: one is a master-slave structure with a tree topology; the other is a peer-to-peer structure in which nodes can forward data to one another. HaLowMesh belongs to the former, so the required topology form should be confirmed first during solution design.

The chip has a complete set of interfaces, and relay nodes can be configured in bridge mode to connect directly to an existing network, without modifying the existing network architecture for networking.

In terms of node count, thousands of nodes can be networked. In actual deployment, how many devices a single node can attach is determined by firmware configuration; network planning should be calculated based on the attached device count.

Transmission rate must be judged according to the network type. HaLowMesh targets application scenarios with many nodes and small data volumes. At 2MHz bandwidth, the transmission rate is up to 1.6Mbps with aggregation enabled and 320Kbps with aggregation disabled, with a single-hop latency of 20ms, corresponding to a coverage range of about 1.5 km per hop. For services such as periodic meter reporting and power grid control commands, this rate can easily meet the requirements.

Power consumption ultimately affects O&M costs. Relay nodes deployed in the field usually rely on battery or solar power, and power consumption data directly determines the frequency of on-site maintenance. The fewer relay nodes deployed, the smaller the maintenance workload.

Not all scenarios require Mesh networking. Links such as bridging between adjacent floors, across the diagonal of a warehouse, or from a courtyard gate to the main house can be satisfied with a single hop; forcibly adding nodes only increases potential failure points.

HaLowMesh is suited to another type of network: many devices, small data volume per point, and dispersed distribution. Typical examples include electricity meters, power grid control, and industrial IoT, with hundreds of nodes, each transmitting a limited amount of data per day; the core requirement is that all nodes stay online and can recover automatically after disconnection. Long, narrow sites such as cross-building campuses, dam galleries, and agricultural plots also fall into the applicable scenarios, since obstructions are difficult to solve even with elevated antennas.

All capabilities are integrated on a single chip, providing a link that can be used directly without building from scratch.