Exploring HaLow WiFi (802.11ah) for IP Camera Streaming – Questions on Region-Specific Performance

[HarirajR]

Hello there,

I’m currently experimenting with an IP camera setup using HaLow WiFi (802.11ah). I’ve flashed openwrt v2.7-dev-morse-micro-ekh01 (GitHub link) onto RPI4 that holds Seeed Studio’s Wio-WM6108, which internally uses the Quectel FGH100M module (Ordering Code: FGH100MAAMD).

Setup Overview:

• Two RPI 4s configured as AP and STA

• Goal: Stream from 4–6 IP cameras (ONVIF-supported) to a single AP over ~1km

  Camera Stream Settings:

  • Main Stream:

    • Encode Mode: H.264

    • Resolution: 1280×720 (1.0M)

    • Frame Rate: 10 FPS

    • Bit Rate Type: CBR

    • Reference Bit Rate: 512 Kb/s

    • Frame Interval: 10

  • Sub Stream:

    • Enabled: Yes

    • Encode Mode: H.265

    • Resolution: 704×576 (0.4M)

    • Frame Rate: 10 FPS

    • Bit Rate Type: CBR

    • Reference Bit Rate: 512 Kb/s

    • Frame Interval: 10

• Initial testing in US region (with 2 915Mhz 2.2dbm) worked flawlessly — cameras authenticated and streamed successfully

• Now operating in India, set to Channel 5 (865.5 MHz) with **1 MHz bandwidth (**trying to access substream at least)

• Using a 2.8 dBi antenna, I’m seeing max Tx/Rx speeds up to 1.0 Mbps

Questions for the community:

1. CE Certification vs US Performance:
   The FGH100MAAMD is CE-certified with a max physical rate of 3.3 Mbps, but when set to US region, I observed speeds up to 33 Mbps.
   → Is this due to broader channel widths or relaxed regulatory constraints in the US?

2. VHT Warning:
   I noticed this log: wlan0: 80 MHz not supported, disabling VHT.
   → I assume VHT refers to Very High Throughput. Does this mean 802.11ah doesn’t support VHT, or is it region/channel-specific?

3. India Region Limitations:
   → Does setting the region to India restrict Tx/Rx power or modulation schemes? Could this be tied to internal firmware blocks or regulatory enforcement within the FGH100M?

4. Future Quectel Modules for India:
   → Are there any plans for India-specific modules that support higher throughput (e.g., wider bandwidth or higher Tx power)? I’ve seen specs suggesting Tx power up to 30 dBm (1W) — is this achievable under Indian regulations?

5. ONVIF Discovery Issue at 864 MHz:
   When I set the frequency to 864 MHz, I noticed br-alwlan: port 1(eth0) entered forwarding state — similar to what I see at 915 MHz when streaming works.
   → However, under Services > Cameras, I get “No ONVIF-compatible cameras found”, even though the forwarding state seems active.
   → Could this be a multicast/broadcast issue, or something frequency-specific affecting ONVIF discovery?

Open to any insights or suggestions—your experience could really help .

Cheers,
Hari

[ajudge]

Hi @HarirajR

@HarirajR

• CE Certification vs US Performance:
  The FGH100MAAMD is CE-certified with a max physical rate of 3.3 Mbps, but when set to US region, I observed speeds up to 33 Mbps.
  → Is this due to broader channel widths or relaxed regulatory constraints in the US?

3.3Mbps is the 1MHz MCS7 maximum theoretical throughput limit. This is purely a bandwidth limitation.

@HarirajR

• VHT Warning:
  I noticed this log: wlan0: 80 MHz not supported, disabling VHT.
  → I assume VHT refers to Very High Throughput. Does this mean 802.11ah doesn’t support VHT, or is it region/channel-specific?

Our driver maps 802.11ah channels to 802.11ac channels for compatibility with older kernels. 802.11ah doesn’t really support VHT at all, and this will just be indicating that 4MHz channels and higher are not available - which is expected for the region.

@HarirajR

• India Region Limitations:
  → Does setting the region to India restrict Tx/Rx power or modulation schemes? Could this be tied to internal firmware blocks or regulatory enforcement within the FGH100M?

Channel and bandwidth are limited by the BCF loaded into the chip on init. These are not user modifiable to meet regulatory requirements.

@HarirajR

• Future Quectel Modules for India:
  → Are there any plans for India-specific modules that support higher throughput (e.g., wider bandwidth or higher Tx power)? I’ve seen specs suggesting Tx power up to 30 dBm (1W) — is this achievable under Indian regulations?

India regulatory doesn’t allow for 30dBm transmission. Maximum transmission power is 16dBm.

@HarirajR

• ONVIF Discovery Issue at 864 MHz:
  When I set the frequency to 864 MHz, I noticed br-alwlan: port 1(eth0) entered forwarding state — similar to what I see at 915 MHz when streaming works.
  → However, under Services > Cameras, I get “No ONVIF-compatible cameras found”, even though the forwarding state seems active.
  → Could this be a multicast/broadcast issue, or something frequency-specific affecting ONVIF discovery?

Hm, this sounds like a multicast issue, rather than something frequency-specific. If you are able to configure a sniffer as per App Note 36, are you able to see the multicast onvif probes and responses from devices?