Why You Should Choose Gateways with Cavity Filters for Your Deployment

Have you ever wondered why your LoRaWAN® network faces interference in busy environments? Or why connections drop in places like airports, factories, or cities?

The answer often lies in the design of your gateways—specifically, whether they include cavity filters. Choosing gateways with cavity filters can help ensure stable and clear communication where it matters most.

As IoT networks grow, more devices are sending signals at the same time, making it harder for networks to function smoothly. With so many signals competing, it can lead to delays, weak connections, and even complete communication failures. Interference from nearby wireless systems, industrial equipment, or even environmental factors can make the problem worse. To keep networks running reliably, it is important to use advanced filtering technology that blocks unwanted noise and keeps signals clear.

In this article, we’ll explore when RF cavity filters are a must-have for your gateways, how they solve these challenges, and the key benefits they bring to your IoT deployments.

What Are RF Cavity Filters?

RF cavity filters help wireless networks work smoothly by keeping unwanted signals out. They make sure that only the right signals get through, preventing interference that can weaken connections or cause communication problems.

Think of them like noise-canceling headphones. Just as these headphones block out background noise so you can hear music clearly, cavity filters remove unwanted signals to keep communication networks clear and reliable.

These filters are especially useful in places where many wireless systems operate close to each other, such as airports, factories, and busy city areas. Without them, overlapping signals can cause disruptions, leading to weak performance and connection failures.

A Detailed Guide on Cavity Filters: Want to dive deeper into how cavity filters work and why they are essential? Check out our in-depth guide that explains their role, benefits, and applications in detail: What is a Cavity RF Filter and Why is it Important?

How RF Cavity Filters Improve Network Performance and Reliability

Now that you have a clear understanding of what RF cavity filters are and how they work, let’s see why they are important for keeping networks running smoothly.

RF cavity filters are not just extra features; they play a key role in making sure networks work well. Here’s why:

1. Keeping Signals Clear: Cavity filters separate the signals you need from unwanted noise. In busy places like airports, cities, or factories, this prevents messy signals and dropped connections.
2. Reducing Interference: In high-RF environments, such as factories with heavy machinery or airports with radar systems, interference can cripple networks. Cavity filters block unnecessary signals, ensuring smooth communication.
3. Meeting Regulations: Many industries must follow strict rules on interference levels. For instance, some airports require gateways to reduce noise by up to 50 dB beyond standard regulations—a feat only achievable with cavity filters.
4. Improving Reliability: Cavity filters ensure stable performance even in challenging conditions like extreme temperatures or crowded RF environments.
5. Saving Money Over Time: By reducing interference-related issues, these filters lower maintenance costs and prevent costly downtime.
6. Future-Proofing IoT Networks: As IoT ecosystems grow, RF congestion will increase. Cavity filters prepare your network to handle this growth seamlessly.
7. Maximizing ROI: Investing in cavity filters helps improve overall network efficiency, reducing operational disruptions and enhancing long-term cost savings.

Before we explore specific use cases, let’s summarize the key takeaways. RF cavity filters play a crucial role in improving network performance by reducing interference, ensuring reliability, and helping businesses save on long-term costs. They are an important investment for any IoT deployment looking to maximize efficiency and ROI.

Where Are RF Cavity Filters Used?

At TEKTELIC, we have spent over 15 years working closely with customers across different industries, helping them overcome network interference challenges. Let’s review the key environments where having a cavity filter in your gateways is not just beneficial but absolutely necessary.

Airports

Key Challenges:

• High number of overlapping wireless signals from radar, aircraft communication, cellular networks, and security systems
• Risk of interference affecting LoRaWAN® network reliability
• Strict RF spectrum regulations requiring additional filtering.

Why Cavity Filters Matter:

• Block interference from multiple wireless sources at airports
• Ensure stable reception of low-power LoRaWAN® signals
• Help meet regulatory requirements for reduced out-of-band noise.

Let’s start with airports—an area where TEKTELIC has extensive experience. Over the years, we have worked with multiple airport authorities worldwide, helping them deploy reliable LoRaWAN® networks using our gateways.

Airports are complex environments with a high number of wireless technologies in use, including aircraft communication, radar, ground control, cellular networks, and security systems. These signals can interfere with LoRaWAN® frequencies, especially when they operate close in range.

Our customers in the aviation sector have recognized that using cavity filters is crucial to maintaining stable network performance.

For example, Istanbul Airport, one of the busiest in the world, relies on TEKTELIC’s KONA Macro gateways to ensure seamless operations. Its RF cavity filters play a key role in filtering out unwanted interference from various wireless sources, protecting low-power LoRaWAN signals received by the gateway. Without these filters, high-powered transmissions from other airport systems could reduce the gateway’s ability to receive signals effectively, limiting range and overall reliability.

In addition to interference challenges, airports also have strict RF spectrum regulations. While standard regulatory requirements such as FCC or CE compliance are generally sufficient, some airports impose even stricter limits on out-of-band noise. In one case, an airport authority requested a reduction in LoRaWAN® gateway Tx out-of-band noise by 50 dB more than the standard requirement. The only way to achieve this was by integrating RF cavity filters.

Cavity filters are strongly recommended for high-RF environments like airports. Choosing the right gateway depends on the project’s scope and competition. For large-scale airport deployments, we typically recommend the KONA Macro due to its strong performance in high-interference areas.

However, if cost is a major factor and competitors are offering lower-grade gateways, the KONA Enterprise could be an option, as it still outperforms many alternatives. In either case, educating customers on the risks of interference without cavity filters is essential for making the best decision.

Oil & Gas Industry

Key Challenges:

• Remote locations with limited connectivity
• High levels of interference from heavy machinery
• Need for reliable real-time monitoring

Why Cavity Filters Matter:

• Filter out interference from drilling equipment and industrial systems
• Ensure stable connections for LoRaWAN® gateways
• Reduce downtime and improve operational efficiency.

Oil and gas operations take place in remote areas with extreme conditions and high levels of RF interference. Without cavity filters, communication can be unreliable, leading to safety risks and operational delays. These filters help maintain strong connectivity for real-time monitoring, asset tracking, and predictive maintenance, ensuring smooth and safe operations.

Urban Environments and Smart Cities

Key Challenges:

• Multiple wireless networks operating in close proximity
• Need for uninterrupted data transmission for critical applications
• Managing environmental monitoring, traffic systems, and public safety networks.

Why Cavity Filters Matter:

• Improve signal clarity in crowded urban environments
• Enhance efficiency of smart infrastructure like intelligent lighting and parking systems
• Support real-time data transmission for improved decision-making.

Smart city networks rely on seamless connectivity to manage infrastructure efficiently. Cavity filters help eliminate interference from overlapping signals, allowing IoT applications such as smart traffic management, environmental monitoring, and emergency response systems to function reliably. This ensures better city management and enhanced quality of life for residents.

Industrial Automation

Key Challenges:

• High electromagnetic interference from robotic machinery and power tools
• Need for stable, low-latency communication for automation and monitoring
• Reducing connectivity disruptions that affect production processes.

Why Cavity Filters Matter:

• Maintain strong and reliable network performance
• Reduce signal interference from heavy industrial equipment
• Ensure critical IoT applications like predictive maintenance and asset tracking function smoothly.

Factories and industrial sites operate in environments with intense RF interference from machinery and automated systems. Cavity filters ensure stable and clear communication for IoT-driven automation, predictive maintenance, and process optimization. By filtering out unwanted signals, they improve operational efficiency and reduce costly downtime.

TEKTELIC’s Expertise in Cavity Filters

TEKTELIC is a trusted provider of high-performance LoRaWAN® gateways designed for reliable operation in challenging environments like industrial sites, airports, and densely populated urban areas. Our gateways include built-in cavity filters to reduce interference and maintain strong, stable network connections.

One standout product is the KONA Mega, which delivers exceptional network capacity. It is particularly well-suited for large-scale deployments where high volumes of devices need to be managed efficiently. For projects requiring a more balanced approach, the KONA Macro provides excellent coverage and performance, making it ideal for mid-sized applications.

What sets TEKTELIC apart is our expertise in designing and integrating cavity filters that minimize interference and keep signals clear. Our solutions also comply with strict industry regulations, ensuring seamless deployment in high-interference areas.

By using advanced filtering technology, TEKTELIC gateways provide stable and efficient communication, making networks more reliable, cost-effective, and future-ready for growing IoT applications.

Conclusion

We hope this information has been valuable in helping you understand the importance of RF cavity filters and how they can impact the performance of your IoT network. Selecting the right LoRaWAN® gateway is an important step in ensuring reliable connectivity, especially in high-interference environments like airports, industrial sites, and smart cities.

At TEKTELIC, we are committed to providing trusted, high-quality solutions that help businesses build strong, interference-free networks. Whether you’re looking for a scalable large-scale deployment or a cost-effective mid-sized solution, our KONA Macro and KONA Mega gateways offer proven performance with built-in cavity filters to keep your network running smoothly.

If you have any questions or need further guidance, we are here to help. Let’s work together to build a network that meets your needs today and is ready for the future.