If ensuring you always have a connected internet is so important, why not just do dual WAN. Cable/DSL/Fibre for Primary, Celluar/satellite for backup. No need to wait for any individual product to add it, you can add it to all of them at the same time.
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I get ya, and the rest of your post. And I will agree that Hubitat isn't staffed or scoped for dilutive efforts that might not have a huge & immediate sell through value.
But somebody else is likely to back into this; it might come from the Security side of things where inch by inch they are moving from just security, just monitoring, and into Automation.
5G and the future variants will be ubiquitous, moreso than any other networking infrastructure. In not too many years it will not be that big of a deal or cost to have multiple independent connections "to the cloud" without having to manage them all through your own local network infrastructure (for failover or otherwise).
The cellular carriers will likely see to that. I'm not saying all you folks sitting on FTTH will care, but there is a layer of use cases where it will be transformative (not just what it has done for your phone).
The beauty of "local" systems like HE is that they "DON'T NEED the BROAD" in broadband on an average day. But consistently reliable and secure connectivity anywhere the box is placed WOULD be valuable (again, within reach of a tower). That is the angle that we're seeing in the IOT space, and not necessarily in the "life safety certified" category at all.
So I threw this out there for pondering. Let's just watch and see if it ever pops up somewhere.
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This has been going on for at least 10 years now, and look at all they have accomplished in that time, with large customer bases and deep pockets. Hmmm, maybe tomorrow they will wake up and become a different animal, but don't hold your breath!
I remember when the telephone companies thought the electric utilities were going to get into their business because they had wires everywhere. Right, think again.
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I remember when the wireless/telephone guys thought they should get into the TV business. They don’t work here anymore. There is a reason to stay in your lane.
They do this. My Qolsys security panel and Alarm.com offer automation. I can connected a limited selection of Zigbee and Zwave devices to my Qolsys panel along with Qolsys PowerG products. Qolsys offers all the range of security sensors, but are offering locks and outlets etc. The key here is they are doing this mostly to add stickiness to their cloud solution. Locks can make sense if you have Alarm.com doorbell cameras because you can unlock from the screen where you are talking to the door dinger. Lights and switches make sense because you can activate a porch light for security reasons. But that is all cloud based/dependent. HE isn't competing with them. HE users don't want what they are selling or are happy to have both. HE users don't want limited product choices and cloud dependency. They don't want subscriptions (save for HE subs).
Radio in your controller makes sense if you are trying to be a cloud solution. It makes less sense when you don't need it and do really need local network connectivity.
I have Hubitat and Control4. I have redundant internet connectivity. I don't need either of those systems to have cell built it. I have GPS trackers, security cameras, hotspots and car headunits with sim cards. This is useful.
Yeah, like AT&T bought TCI and Media One to get into the cable tv business, then was forced to sell that to Comcast, leading to the demise of the old AT&T. Bought by SBC, who renamed itself AT&T. Then they bought DirecTV and Time Warner -- had to sell both. Huge losses involved in all of these getting out transactions. Bell Heads abide, like the Dude abides -- just as funny.
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But you are not @PunchCardPgmr . I Don't need control4, GPS trackers, redundant internet connectivity, car headunits with sim cards. They are not useful.
PowerG accessories would be nice to have. Long range direct connect devices that work today! It's interesting to see them back hand Z-Wave in their PowerG product videos. I think a lot of their Z-Wave customers have been single locks that as we know don't work well without a good mesh network.
Back to the cell radios. Xfinity has a 4G cell with battery backup accessory. $252. I'd rather pay more $ for more functionality.
https://www.xfinity.com/learn/internet-service/stormready#Pricing&otherinfo
Ok, this is a little weird I have to admit. You are not either of us so I'm confused.
You may want to re-read what I have written. The list of items I detailed have cell radios and are products that make good use of cell radios.
Lets not argue for arguements sake, eh?
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I think the sweet spot for the IQP4's is small homes and condo's where your panel is probably within 20 feet of the door or less. Makes total sense to support Z-wave locks. Consider the builder that offers the security package of the no screen NSpanels and locks. Works only with the app. Inexpensive to deploy and 20 bucks a month... They are now about to release PowerG+ that allows installers to lock the devices to them so they can do things like lock a customer in and they can't sub with another security company without ripping everything out....
This reminds me. Need to look into something with sim backup...
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For me, connectivity to a property ultimately feels like something that is a personal priority and a personal responsibility. If your property is one that suffers from potential loss of cloud connectivity or requires a reliable cloud connection, then I think it is something you need to sure up in your network, rather than relying on one device to solve for it's own communications.
Don't get me wrong... I think the original intention is admirable in looking to promote a backup cloud connection for what I would also recognise as an inconsequential element of many smart homes. The part I would contend is the impact and likelihood for many that a backup option is required, For me, the number of times an Internet outage occurs is 1-2 times a year on average and for me the kinds of things that are affected are climate control and monitoring from outside of the home, while manual controls and local observation are still available. That said, I don't have "smart" security or alarm systems, so do not have that level of reliance on outside communications.
So, like I have suggested on a couple of home security topics lately, I would suggest that if people have a requirement for reliable external comm's, I would suggest purchasing a system built with that in mind, whether it be for home security or other purposes.
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Not if there is not a good Z-Wave mesh. If you watch their training videos it's clear their dealers have had a lot of bad Z-Wave installs that drive high support costs. They specifically call out small install jobs where the Z-Wave locks don't perform. They note the need for mains powered repeaters, which many customers did not have. PowerG locks totally fix that issue. Why they went further to light switches? I don't really understand that. It's also funny as they are on the BOD of the Z-Wave Alliance. That org has been taken over by the security industry as it tries to figure out its place in the market.
This would not be something I would be interested in for two reasons (note - this is specific to my experience and may not be a widespread view):
1- I don't want anything INSIDE my house directly communicating with anything in the cloud without going through MY firewall. A cellular connection would double my efforts where I could just use a cell connection at the network level and still have everything channeled through my firewall.
2- I happen to live in an area where I get 1 bar of cell coverage outside in my yard, on one side of my house, holding my phone at a specific angle. In order for this to work for me, it would have to accept an external antenna and I would have to run cables to the middle of my house where my hub is. For my overall network, I do use a hotspot. But, that required me to put a directional external antenna on my upper floor to get a signal acceptable to at least perform at speeds high enough for essential network connectivity. My router can connect to another wifi for failover WAN. So, that is how I get my hotspot to my router.
We lose wired internet at least 4 times a year (usually due to weather shenanigans) and the outages range from a few hours to up to a day. But, with the battery backups on my network, modem, and hun, all my local stuff (which is 99%) still just works as I need it. The only thing I lose is remote access to my cameras because of the bandwidth required. But, they are still on and recording.
Well sure. But it's often the case that these IQP4 panels are next to the front door.
Sure, they came recently and are.... fugly.
My $.2
A much higher percentage of Hubitat users would use built in POE for powering their hub over built in cellular backup connectivity.
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Now THAT I'd agree with for sure.
As for a lot of the other comments stacking up in this thread I have to remind myself that a lot of them are coming from network & computing savoy individuals living in sizable population centers where infrastructure is solid and the "rack in the office" is the "most remote & inhospitable" place their hubs sit (controlling their living room lighting scenes). Yeah, not your typical plug & play types.
Now I'm off to enjoy a greenhouse where the fans just kicked on, hatches opened, and the watering is about to start....all controlled by that C5 hub STILL surviving in an un-insulated outbuilding taking care of a number of other things on that end of the property ....all while enduring 10-110F temp swings and being covered with dust until I blow it off occasionally.
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Where on earth are you. Is this the greenhouse temperature? That's one heck of a swing.
this removes the local aspect, which is a big feature for a lot of users. it can't be done locally as the devices are linked to a radio on a single hub (mitigated with things like hub mesh/connect
PoE support is a feature that staff have suggested would be applicable to a minuscule segment of Hubitat’s user base (although I would use it).
That may not bode well for the chances of a cellular radio being built into the hub.
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