N10-009 Question 94
Single answerWireless: 802.11 standards, Cellular, SatelliteA construction company is opening a temporary field office at a remote job site. The site has no wired ISP service, and the office needs internet access for cloud-based project management, VoIP calls, and video meetings. The site manager reports that there is strong 5G cellular coverage in the area, but nearby hills occasionally block line-of-sight to the sky from parts of the site. The company wants the fastest practical deployment with the lowest latency for interactive applications, while keeping satellite only as a fallback if needed. Which solution should the network administrator recommend?
- A
Deploy a 5G cellular router as the primary WAN connection and use satellite only as a backup option
- B
Deploy a geostationary satellite connection as the primary WAN because satellite always provides lower latency than cellular in remote areas
- C
Deploy an 802.11ax access point in the office as the primary internet service because Wi-Fi 6 offers multi-gigabit throughput
- D
Deploy a low Earth orbit satellite connection as the only WAN option because 5G cannot support VoIP or video conferencing reliably
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The best answer is to use 5G cellular as the primary WAN and satellite as backup. For a temporary remote office, cellular is often the fastest practical deployment because it avoids trenching, circuit installation delays, or fixed-line construction. With strong 5G coverage, cellular usually provides lower latency than satellite, which is especially important for VoIP, video conferencing, and other interactive cloud applications. Satellite remains useful where terrestrial coverage is weak or unavailable, but terrain, weather, and service characteristics can affect performance and installation practicality. From a Network+ perspective, this question tests the ability to distinguish WLAN standards such as 802.11ax from WAN access methods such as cellular and satellite, and to select the most appropriate technology based on latency, deployment speed, and business requirements. These conclusions align with common vendor and industry guidance: Wi-Fi standards like 802.11 define local network access, while cellular and satellite provide upstream WAN connectivity; geostationary satellite is known for higher latency due to orbital distance, and 5G is commonly used for rapid branch and temporary-site connectivity.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Given strong 5G coverage, a 5G cellular router is the best primary WAN choice for fast deployment and lower latency than satellite for interactive traffic such as VoIP and video meetings. Cellular WAN links are commonly used for temporary sites, vehicles, and branch failover because they can be deployed quickly without waiting for a wired circuit. Keeping satellite as a backup aligns with the requirement to use it only if needed.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Geostationary satellite typically has significantly higher latency than cellular because signals must travel to and from satellites in high orbit. That latency makes GEO satellite less suitable for delay-sensitive applications like voice and video compared with a good 4G LTE or 5G connection. The statement that satellite always provides lower latency than cellular is false.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) is a local wireless LAN standard, not a WAN internet access technology by itself. An access point can provide wireless connectivity inside the office, but it still requires an upstream internet connection such as fiber, cable, cellular, or satellite. A candidate might choose this option by confusing WLAN performance with internet service delivery.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Low Earth orbit satellite generally offers lower latency than geostationary satellite, but that does not make it automatically better than strong 5G for this scenario. Also, the claim that 5G cannot support VoIP or video conferencing reliably is inaccurate. In practice, well-signalized LTE and 5G deployments are widely used for those applications. Choosing LEO as the only WAN option would also ignore the stated preference for using satellite only as a fallback if needed.