The visibility of remote sites is crucial for any supplier. Knowing each site's operational status allows system administrators to have an overview of locations that were either once manned or relatively invisible.

Leased lines and private wire provide the opportunity for interoperability between sites. Using other methods, such as radio, requires additional equipment and local installation to report site activity. Whilst the data is still very small, a few hundred bytes at most, the systems on which they operate are slowly being replaced. Currently, it is not possible to install leased lines or private wires in most locations, and their support will likely cease by the end of this decade.

Today, most countries have reliable mobile networks. 4G, the 4th generation mobile technology, operates in both the 800-900MHz range and the 2.1 & 2.6GHz range, allowing for availability in both high and low-density areas. The lower frequencies (800-900MHz) allow the signal to penetrate buildings, as well as long distances, where a site would be inaccessible or costly to install equipment on that site.

Remote locations, even if they are sometimes in undesirable areas, can now be brought on to the network for greater visibility. Installing routers to operate as an “on-premises Router” and providing a “Gateway functionality” for existing equipment to communicate with a top-end system, makes this transition easier.

The term gateway is commonly used in networking to refer to accessing an external network. With the use of cellular technology such as 4G, this network could be the Internet. The router could be installed on the site, or in other words, on the premises, providing access to the remote site.

With serial, Ethernet, and cellular interfaces, the Merlin range can connect either legacy equipment or much more modern equipment to the larger system. When these devices are connected to the network, system administrators will now have the visibility they didn't have before, meaning maintenance, monitoring, and updates can be performed from a central location.

Having one device in a remote location, instead of multiple devices is also a benefit. Each site doesn't need a modem, a phone line, or a radio to report back, only one unit and an antenna. The space once occupied by legacy equipment can now be used for additional equipment. Merlin's multiple ethernet ports allow the connectivity of multiple devices, instead of just one per modem.

An on-premise router provides a gateway for equipment to access the Internet. By decreasing the cost of maintaining existing equipment and reducing the cost of running a site, larger cost savings can be realized.