> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.gxc.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.gxc.io/plan-your-network.md). # Plan Your Network ## Introduction As connectivity becomes core infrastructure, enterprises are increasingly adopting private Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and Fifth Generation (5G) networks that are robust and secure enough to meet their operational requirements for coverage, capacity, mobility, reliability, and access control—capabilities that enterprise Wi-Fi was not designed to deliver at industrial scale. GXC's Onyx™ platform provides a flexible, scalable, and secure foundation for private LTE and 5G deployments across a wide range of indoor and outdoor enterprise environments. It brings coverage, capacity, mobility, reliability, and access control together in a single, integrated system—providing the connectivity infrastructure that modern enterprises need. ## What this Guide Covers This guide provides a practical framework for designing Onyx-powered private cellular networks, guiding you from *“I have a site and a use case”* to a preliminary network design suitable for developing a quote and Bill of Materials (BoM). ## Who This Guide Is For This guide is intended for customer technical teams designing their own deployments and for GXC partners developing customer proposals. ## What You'll Get By the end of this guide, you'll have: * **A radio plan** — The number of radios required, the appropriate radio type, and their recommended placement. * **A network design** — The required infrastructure—Onyx Edge servers, fronthaul, backhaul, switches, and the overall deployment architecture. * **A Bill of Materials (BoM)** — The BoM that you can use to request a quote or build a customer proposal. ## Onyx ROM AP Calculator At each step, the guide walks you through the [*Onyx Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) AP Calculator*](https://www.gxc.io/rom-ap-calculator/)—a live tool that turns your deployment requirements into design recommendations. This guide also explains the manual methods and reference data behind those results, enabling you to validate the recommendations and develop them into a complete preliminary design and BoM.

Figure: Onyx ROM AP Calculator Interface

{% hint style="info" %} **NOTE**: The calculator's estimates — like the rules of thumb they're built on — are a reliable starting point, not a substitute for an RF survey at sites with significant clutter, height variation, challenging propagation conditions, or strict coverage SLAs. For projects requiring a detailed RF design, GXC offers RF design as a service. {% endhint %} ## What to Bring Before you begin, gather the following information. Each item maps directly to one of the [*ROM Calculator's*](https://www.gxc.io/rom-ap-calculator/) three input panels. | Bring this | ROM Calculator Panel / Fields | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |

Your Site

- Size
- Indoor/outdoor split
- Terrain
- Obstructions
- Ceiling heights
- Zones with different coverage needs

|

Site & Coverage

- Deployment Type
- Environment
- Clutter Level
- Total Site Area

| |

Your Use Cases

- Voice
- Video
- Industrial automation
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Surveillance
- Telemetry
- Broadcast
- Other operational applications

|

Capacity & Application

- Primary Use Case
- Latency Requirement

| |

Your Devices

- Types
- Capabilities
- Expected concurrency
- Bandwidth needs

|

Capacity & Application

- Downlink / User
- Uplink / User

Site & Coverage

- UL Device Class

| |

Your Scale

- Expected users/devices
- Peak concurrency

|

Capacity & Application

- Concurrent Devices
- Device Mobility

| |

Your Spectrum and Backhaul

- CBRS
- n77/n78 or other regional bands
- Existing wired connectivity

|

Capacity & Application

- Technology
- Channel BW

Site & Coverage

- Region
- AP Power Class

Planning Parameters

- Backhaul / Cabling

| |

Your Design Preferences

- How conservative your estimate should be
- How much growth/overlap margin to plan for

|

Planning Parameters

- Planning Stance
- Overlap / Growth Buffer

| ## Before you Begin New to private cellular terminology or concepts? * [*Introduction to GXC Onyx*](/introduction.md) — Review the overall Onyx platform architecture and components. * [*Is Onyx Right for You?*](/is-onyx-right-for-you.md) — Check that private cellular fits the problem before you size a network for it. * [*GXC Glossary*](/glossary.md) — Learn common private cellular and Onyx terminology. * [*Private 5G Spectrum and Regulations*](/private-5g-spectrum.md) — Understand supported spectrum bands and regulatory considerations. * [*Security and Compliance*](/security-and-compliance.md) — Review security features, compliance certifications, and applicable regulatory requirements. * [*Onyx Hardware*](https://docs.gxc.io/hw/onyx-hardware/gxc-5g-and-lte-hardware) — Learn about supported Onyx Edge gateways, Access Points (APs), antennas, and related hardware. * [*Use Case Workflows*](https://docs.gxc.io/use-cases) — See the network requirements that real deployments produce, workflow by workflow. ## Where this Guide is Going Network design follows four steps, in this order:

Capacity → Coverage → Architecture → Accessories

Capacity sets a floor, Coverage sets a ceiling, Architecture resolves where you land between them, and Accessories completes the system. Work through the four steps in order. Each one carries a number into the next, so skipping ahead produces a design that does not hold together. {% stepper %} {% step %} ## Capacity {% content-ref url="/pages/14089bc89bad4e9a4195b0712ba83fdcea56894e" %} [Capacity](/plan-your-network/capacity.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% endstep %} {% step %} ## Coverage {% content-ref url="/pages/0a57114e418b953a1c4a9a4e9ffd24baeeb62a42" %} [Coverage](/plan-your-network/coverage.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% endstep %} {% step %} ## Architecture {% content-ref url="/pages/bf5c2f6f7a9de308312c038193e06056a44b7b37" %} [Architecture](/plan-your-network/architecture.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% endstep %} {% step %} ## Accessories {% content-ref url="/pages/b01886e7a37e4a97868341e5760ac09f5a731d08" %} [Accessories](/plan-your-network/accessories.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% endstep %} {% endstepper %} ## Getting a Full Estimate The BoM components in *Step 4* [*Accessories*](/plan-your-network/accessories.md) cover the equipment required for a given architecture, but several accessory quantities — antenna and cable counts, FHM requirements, RU/gNodeB configuration, and outdoor-unit accessories — depend heavily on the specific deployment's physical layout and are not produced by the calculator. Adding these manually without confirming they apply to your design can significantly overstate the estimate. For a validated BoM and a formal quote, contact GXC Sales with the outputs from your ROM Calculator session. GXC Sales will confirm the accessory and configuration details — such as tenant/antenna counts, FHM requirements, and RU or outdoor-unit accessories — that apply to your specific deployment. ## Contact GXC Sales To convert the preliminary BoM into a priced, deployment-ready quote, contact [GXC Sales](https://www.gxc.io/contact-us). Sales involvement is especially useful when your design includes an outdoor unit, since outdoor accessories, tenant/antenna counts, and other site-dependent components are best confirmed before final pricing. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.gxc.io/plan-your-network.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.