Jobsite Surveillance and Progress Capture
Overview
A construction site is the hardest environment a network gets asked to serve, and the one with the least infrastructure to serve it. There is no structured cabling, because the building that would carry it is what is being built. Power is temporary. The site layout changes every week, and so does the RF environment as steel goes up and concrete goes in. Fixed-line broadband, if it arrives at all, arrives late in the program.
The usual answer is a collection of independent 4G cameras, each with its own SIM on a public network, each billed separately, each uploading to a different vendor's cloud. It works until the site gets busy, which is when the public cell serving the site gets congested by the same crowd of workers and deliveries, and it produces evidence that lives in five portals.
A private 5G network on the site is a single deployable asset that solves the whole problem: security cameras, progress capture, site Wi-Fi backhaul for the site office, connected plant, and worker communications on one network, under the contractor's control, with footage that stays on site. It moves as the site moves, and it goes up in the first weeks of the program rather than the last.
How It Works
Site architecture
What each component does
Onyx Edge
In the site office or a secure container. 5G Core, local breakout, VMS and edge analytics, and on-site recording. Footage never leaves the site
RU on a tower crane
Height and power, already there. Plan the succession: the crane comes down before the end of the job
RU on a mast, cabled
The stable position, where fiber can actually be pulled
RU on the perimeter
Where no conduit is possible, reached by Mesh Node wireless backhaul
Mesh Node
Wireless backhaul across an active site, removing trenching from the cost of a position
Perimeter and gate cameras
Continuous, on 5QI 72. This is the security case, and it matters most out of hours
Progress capture cameras
Fixed framing for the entire program. Their value is comparability across the job
Helmet and vehicle cameras
Inspection, snagging, incident capture, tagged to location and works package
Site office CPE
Backhauls the site Wi-Fi, so office and camera networks share one connection
Onyx Portal
Camera and network diagnostics without a site visit: a construction site rarely has IT staff
The video path, hop by hop
1
Camera → encode
H.265
4–12 Mbps per camera. Local storage buffers against network interruption
2
Camera → Onyx RU
5G NR Uu, uplink
On the Surveillance group's 5QI 72 bearer
3
RU → Onyx Edge
eCPRI, or Mesh Node backhaul where no conduit exists
Perimeter and outbuilding RUs reach the edge without trenching
4
UPF → VMS
N6 local breakout
Recording and analytics on site
5
Edge analytics
Zone rules
On an active site continuous motion is the normal state during working hours: useful alerting comes from zone rules, not motion
6
Alert → Security provider
Out-of-hours path
Where perimeter surveillance earns most of its return, given plant and material theft
7
Progress capture → Project record
Scheduled upload
Assembles into a time-lapse and a dated visual record against the program
Coverage has a time dimension
This is what separates a construction network from every other workflow in this section. Every other page designs once for a fixed environment. Here the environment is under construction by definition, and the site at week 4 and the site at week 40 are different RF environments.
Groundworks
Open ground, long clear paths, few obstructions
Structure
The steel frame and concrete floors become the obstruction. Coverage validated at week 4 fails here
Envelope and fit-out
RUs relocate inside; the crane comes down and its RU needs a successor position
Handover
Demobilize to the next project: the network is a reusable asset, not a sunk cost
Re-survey at every phase boundary, and build that trigger into the site's change-management process.
Why the record is evidentiary from day one
Construction footage ends up in delay claims, variation disputes, and incident investigations. That changes the requirements: set retention from the contractual and legal need rather than a default, verify upload integrity, ensure timestamps are trustworthy, and define chain of custody before the first incident rather than after.
It is also why progress-capture positions must not move. The value of a progress record is comparability across the whole program; a camera repositioned at week 20 splits the sequence into two incomparable halves, and its value in a dispute drops accordingly.
Network Requirements
Uplink per fixed camera, 1080p H.265
4–8 Mbps
Uplink per fixed camera, 4K H.265
10–12 Mbps
Aggregate uplink, 40 cameras mixed
~250 Mbps
Progress capture burst
20–100 MB per capture point per event
Mobile capture uplink
4–10 Mbps per device
One-way network latency
< 150 ms
Jitter
< 40 ms
Packet error rate
10-4
Availability
99.9% overall; higher for perimeter cameras out of hours
Surveillance QoS
5QI 72: GBR, live uplink streaming, 300 ms PDB
Tolerant/bulk streams QoS
5QI 76: GBR, 500 ms PDB, or non-GBR 5QI 6
Scheduled bulk upload QoS
Non-GBR 5QI 8 / 9
TDD pattern
Uplink-weighted, DDSUU or DSUUU
Bands
n77, n78, n48 (CBRS), n40
Deploying It
Deploy the network
Onyx Edge in the site office or a secure container with local breakout. Uplink-weighted TDD: this workflow is almost entirely uplink. Surveillance group on 5QI 72 or 76, with a lower-priority non-GBR bearer for scheduled bulk upload. Mesh Node backhaul to RU positions cable cannot reach. Confirm spectrum authorization.
Devices & Ecosystem
Fixed 5G cameras: perimeter, progress, and activity positions; IP66-rated, with local storage as a buffer against network interruption.
PTZ cameras: for large open areas and for security operator control out of hours.
Rapid-deploy CCTV towers: solar or generator-powered mobile units with an integrated 5G link, for perimeter positions with no power.
Helmet and vehicle cameras: inspection, snagging, and incident capture.
5G CPE for the site office: backhauling site Wi-Fi, so the office network and the camera network share one connection.
Connected plant telematics: excavators, dumpers, and lifting equipment reporting utilization and location over the same network.
VMS and analytics: hosted on Onyx Edge; edge analytics avoids streaming everything off site to be analyzed.
Progress capture platform: assembling scheduled captures into a time-lapse and a dated project record.
Design Considerations
Design for a moving site. This is the defining constraint. Every other workflow in this section designs once for a fixed environment. Here, the environment is under construction by definition. Plan coverage in program phases, budget for RU relocation, and re-survey after every significant structural milestone.
The structure will block the coverage that worked last month. A steel frame and concrete floors are effective RF obstructions. Coverage validated across open ground during groundworks tells you nothing about coverage once the frame is up. Re-validate at each phase boundary.
Uplink is essentially all of it. Forty cameras streaming uplink and almost nothing coming down. Configure the TDD pattern accordingly, and quote camera bitrates at the modulation achievable at the worst camera position, not at the best.
Keep progress capture positions fixed for the whole program. The record's value is comparability. A repositioned camera at week 20 splits the sequence into two incomparable halves, and its value in a dispute drops accordingly.
Treat the footage as evidence from day one. Construction footage ends up in delay claims, variation disputes, and incident investigations. Set retention from that requirement, verify upload integrity, ensure timestamps are trustworthy, and define chain-of-custody before the first incident rather than after.
Power is less reliable than the network. Temporary site power gets isolated, tripped, and rerouted. Local UPS at RU and camera positions prevents a fifteen-minute power event from becoming a fifteen-minute gap in the perimeter record.
Signage and consultation are not optional. Site surveillance records workers as well as intruders. Post signage, define retention and access, restrict who can view footage and for what purpose, and consult with the workforce. Confirm the approach against local privacy and employment obligations before deployment.
Cost the network as a reusable asset. Compared against per-camera public data plans across a multi-year program, a private network that then moves to the next project changes the business case substantially. Make that comparison explicitly.
Validation Checklist
Next steps
Size it. Take these requirements through Plan Your Network: capacity, coverage, architecture, and a preliminary bill of materials.
Compare it. Network Requirements at a Glance puts every workflow side by side, for sites carrying more than one.
Talk to us. For a validated design and a quote, contact GXC.
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