Importing wireless AP's - good idea or not?

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nofam

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Topic # 199250 10-Aug-2016 10:42

This is a general inquiry about buying wireless gear from overseas, although my question pertains specifically to Ubiquity AP's - I can buy these from Amazon for under half of what I'll pay locally, but are there real-world restrictions/issues with doing this in terms of radio frequencies?

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Reply # 1608738 10-Aug-2016 16:27

they do have some different frequencies which you cant use here in NZ

sbiddle

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Reply # 1608746 10-Aug-2016 16:39

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Are there different versions of Ubiquiti products for the US market? Yes. It depends what hardware specifically you're talking about.

nofam

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Reply # 1609789 10-Aug-2016 19:26

sbiddle:

Are there different versions of Ubiquiti products for the US market? Yes. It depends what hardware specifically you're talking about.

I believe there is, yes - although whether they're different at a hardware or firmware level is something I'm still looking into. I know there are FAA regulations in the US about specific frequencies being allowed, so I figured there probably would be here, hence my question as to whether this is actually something I need to be concerned about.

If it's illegal to operate them here, then clearly I won't, but I don't see how a couple of frequencies broadcast at the power of a domestic AP would cause planes to fall from the sky, or emergency services to not be able to communicate etc.

Crowdie

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Reply # 1609797 10-Aug-2016 19:43

The FCC requires all access points and residential wireless routers to be locked to the US frequencies and maximum EIRP. Outside the US access points are sold in "World Mode" that allows you to specify your country and hence comply with the local regulations. You import access points from the US at your own risk.

Jase2985

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Reply # 1609801 10-Aug-2016 19:48

nofam:

If it's illegal to operate them here, then clearly I won't, but I don't see how a couple of frequencies broadcast at the power of a domestic AP would cause planes to fall from the sky, or emergency services to not be able to communicate etc.

but thats not really for you to decide though. Some with more knowledge has come up with the rule for it, and you can be fined if you are caught going outside them.

much like driving a car and speeding

nofam

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Reply # 1609804 10-Aug-2016 19:51

Jase2985:

nofam:

If it's illegal to operate them here, then clearly I won't, but I don't see how a couple of frequencies broadcast at the power of a domestic AP would cause planes to fall from the sky, or emergency services to not be able to communicate etc.

but thats not really for you to decide though. Some with more knowledge has come up with the rule for it, and you can be fined if you are caught going outside them.

much like driving a car and speeding

Exactly why I'm posting here mate; otherwise I'd have just done it and taken the chance. I'm all for following the rules, for exactly the reason you say, but the price of this gear in New Zealand just really annoys me.

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Reply # 1609821 10-Aug-2016 20:07

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unless it has a NZ mode then dont bother

chevrolux

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Reply # 1609865 10-Aug-2016 21:57

At worst I would guess the US model just has 2.4GHz channel 13 locked out?

But then if price is the only issue i see they have the standard UAP-AC-PRO (just as an example, and personally i think its the only one worth buying) for $144, so i guess you would still get it here for sub-$200.

richms

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Reply # 1609866 10-Aug-2016 22:11

Huge varience in the 5GHz band, FCC is one of the most restrictive. You can see the tables on wikipedia of what can be used where.

World mode ones let you choose which ones are locked out. You cant have different ones in the same unifi site set to different countries so I expect adding US ones to a NZ setup would screw things up so I have not imported any of them.

Richard rich.ms

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Reply # 1609916 11-Aug-2016 08:29

nofam:

Exactly why I'm posting here mate; otherwise I'd have just done it and taken the chance. I'm all for following the rules, for exactly the reason you say, but the price of this gear in New Zealand just really annoys me.

I've never found the price of Ubiquiti gear to be significantly different from the US. Yes it is cheaper there, but probably by only 10% - 20% tops once shipping and possible tax is factored in depending on the quantities of items you're buying. You have to remember all US prices exclude sales tax whereas NZ prices include GST. You also need to factor in shipping for US imports, and a NZ reseller also needs to factor in support and the CGA. It's not like many things where importing things from the US will save you 50%

There is gear that will work, and some that won't work well due to FCC restrictions. Your question simply can't be answered without knowing the hardware you're talking about, and so far you still haven't said what that is.

nofam

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Reply # 1609919 11-Aug-2016 08:46

sbiddle:

nofam:

Exactly why I'm posting here mate; otherwise I'd have just done it and taken the chance. I'm all for following the rules, for exactly the reason you say, but the price of this gear in New Zealand just really annoys me.

I've never found the price of Ubiquiti gear to be significantly different from the US. Yes it is cheaper there, but probably by only 10% - 20% tops once shipping and possible tax is factored in depending on the quantities of items you're buying. You have to remember all US prices exclude sales tax whereas NZ prices include GST. You also need to factor in shipping for US imports, and a NZ reseller also needs to factor in support and the CGA.

There is gear that will work, and some that won't work well due to FCC restrictions. Your question simply can't be answered without knowing the hardware you're talking about, and so far you still haven't said what that is.

I'm either looking in the wrong places locally then, or times have changed - from the pricing below, I could pretty much get a PoE switch for free with the difference.

Unifi AP AC Lite

PBTech = NZ$228

Amazon = NZ$116 (plus around $40 freight)

Unifi AP AC Pro

PBTech = NZ$320

Amazon = NZ$175

sbiddle

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Reply # 1609921 11-Aug-2016 08:58

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nofam:

sbiddle:

nofam:

Exactly why I'm posting here mate; otherwise I'd have just done it and taken the chance. I'm all for following the rules, for exactly the reason you say, but the price of this gear in New Zealand just really annoys me.

I've never found the price of Ubiquiti gear to be significantly different from the US. Yes it is cheaper there, but probably by only 10% - 20% tops once shipping and possible tax is factored in depending on the quantities of items you're buying. You have to remember all US prices exclude sales tax whereas NZ prices include GST. You also need to factor in shipping for US imports, and a NZ reseller also needs to factor in support and the CGA.

There is gear that will work, and some that won't work well due to FCC restrictions. Your question simply can't be answered without knowing the hardware you're talking about, and so far you still haven't said what that is.

I'm either looking in the wrong places locally then, or times have changed - from the pricing below, I could pretty much get a PoE switch for free with the difference.

Unifi AP AC Lite

PBTech = NZ$228

Amazon = NZ$116 (plus around $40 freight)

Unifi AP AC Pro

PBTech = NZ$320

Amazon = NZ$175

PB Tech's pricing is steep. Go Wireless are the importers into NZ and sell for less than that. Reseller discounts which brings pricing down further.

I'm really surprised Amazon are shipping both of those so cheaply.

richms

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Reply # 1610081 11-Aug-2016 12:53

I think I paid a little over a grand for the 5 pack of AC PRO's from PB. That would have hit me with GST on the import with all the added fees that they put on so not worth it, was only going to save around $100 to get from the US

Richard rich.ms

Crowdie

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Reply # 1610105 11-Aug-2016 13:59

chevrolux:

At worst I would guess the US model just has 2.4GHz channel 13 locked out?

I suspect your biggest issues would be in the 5 GHz spectrum particularly with 802.11h - DFS and TPC.

nofam

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Reply # 1610185 11-Aug-2016 16:05

Ok, so my research today suggests there are only two variants - US and EU (Europe), the latter having channels 12 & 13 available on the 2.4Ghz spectrum. The US variant appears to be locked at hardware-level, which makes sense as there seems to only be a single firmware for both variants.

In other words, there's no difference (beyond the PoE injector power plug) on non-US variants from what I can tell.

I've found a UK-based seller that I can use to get the Pro (landed) for NZ$232, which beats Go Wireless by nearly a hundy.

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