Ubiquiti has a few options for getting buildings connected using dedicated wireless links, with solutions using high speed 60GHz, 5GHz and 2.4GHz. However, when it comes to 60GHz, a common question is what's the difference between the UISP GigaBeam and the UniFi Building Bridge, otherwise known as the UBB.

When it comes to cost, the UBB pack, which includes two UBB devices, PoE injectors and mounts will set you back $499. Compare that to the GigaBeam, which costs $129 for one device and $258 for two, it is significantly cheaper.

Specs

In terms of wireless specs, the two devices are pretty identical. Both have two radios, one 60GHz and one 5GHz - the latter being used for backup if the 60GHz link gets interrupted, either by things in the line-of-sight or extreme weather. However, when it comes to range, the UBB has 500m (1,640ft) of range, 1 Gbps wireless capacity, and a 1GbE Ethernet port. The GigaBeam only has 300m (984ft) of range.

For PoE, the UBB uses standard 802.3af PoE, or it can be powered using passive 48V. The GigaBeam, being a UISP device is instead powered with 24v passive PoE. This will be an important consideration when deciding which device to use.

Managing the devices

Another huge difference is down to how the devices are managed. UISP, airMAX and airFiber devices always have a standalone GUI and the choice to use the UISP Application is always optional, although you will miss out on backups, alerts and stats. If you want to use the GigaBeam as a standalone, isolated point-to-point (PtP), you can.

However, the UniFi Building Bridge needs to be managed by the UniFi Application, whether that be with HostiFi or another system. The UBB doesn't have its own GUI.

Recomendation

It really comes down to the type of setup you have. If the environment you are planning to deploy in has a lot of UniFi equipment already, then it would make sense to use the UBB, as it would be managed nicely together. However, if you have a one off need for a 60GHz PtP and are not interested in remote management, then the GigaBeam offers an affordable alternative.

HostiFi

HostiFi provides hosting for both Ubiquiti and TP-Link software-defined-networking (SDN) applications, with servers for UniFi, UISP and Omada. We also offer professional networking consulting, with HostiFi Pro.