Self-Service Parcel Lockers: Secure 4G/LTE Connectivity with the R1511
A Robustel Application Example
Application Example – Fast Facts
Industry
Retail & Payments, Logistics, Postal Services
Product(s)
R1511 4G/LTE Router, RCMS
Challenges
Keep unattended parcel lockers reachable for payments, door control, and telemetry across mixed sites (storefronts, lobbies, campuses) without relying on venue networks. Reduce costly call-outs by enabling remote diagnostics, content updates, and policy changes.
Expected Outcomes
A stable cellular path per locker bank, secure remote access for support teams, and predictable OTA updates—improving uptime, shortening fix times, and giving operations a single view of estate health.
Click, collect, and keep moving
Click-and-collect only works when lockers are online. If connectivity drops, doors won’t open on command, payments time out, and customers queue. Operators need a consistent, controllable network path that works the same way in a mall, a residential tower, or a university.
An R1511 inside each locker controller provides that path. It delivers clean, outbound 4G/LTE (Long Term Evolution) connectivity for the control system, payment gateway, barcode/RFID readers, and telemetry—so collections stay smooth and service teams can fix issues from afar.
Business Challenges
The hurdles are practical: variable venue networks, the cost of site visits, and keeping software, pricing, and content current—without touching each site.
- Venue dependency: Relying on house networks leads to SSID changes, firewall surprises, or “no guest LAN” policies.
- Service cost: Many incidents could be solved with a remote reboot, config adjustment, or log pull—if a secure path exists.
- Update certainty: Firmware, media, and rules must land on schedule; missed windows impact SLAs and customer experience.
- Device mix: Controllers, scanners, and sensors often include legacy serial interfaces alongside Ethernet devices.
- Estate visibility: Ops leaders need one view of uptime, data use, and signal quality to plan refills and maintenance.
Solution Overview
Each locker bank ships with an R1511 preconfigured for cellular backhaul and remote operations. Control and telemetry use the router’s secure outbound connection; optional serial links integrate legacy hardware without rewriting upstream systems.
- Dedicated cellular backhaul: A consistent 4G/LTE link per site, independent of venue Wi-Fi/LAN, for control, telemetry, and content delivery.
- Remote diagnostics & fixes: Web/CLI access and remote actions (reboot, config push) resolve many incidents without a truck roll.
- Predictable OTA workflows: Schedule firmware, content, and policy updates so promotions, rules, and fixes arrive on time.
- Legacy interface support: RS-232/RS-485 variant with Modbus RTU→TCP and transparent TCP/UDP modes to bridge existing controllers.
- Optional Wi-Fi: Join an approved SSID when permitted or present a local maintenance SSID for field engineers.
- Clean separation from payments: Keep machine management traffic distinct from payment provider paths with logical segmentation and fixed remote access workflows.
Expected Customer Outcomes
What success looks like for the key and secondary stakeholders
- Operations Director: Higher availability, on-time updates, and estate-level insight into performance, data use, and signal health.
- Head of Field Service: Fewer site visits; faster time-to-fix via remote logs, actions, and clear escalation paths.
- Payments/IT Lead: Stable, auditable network paths for payments and control traffic, with clear separation and policy enforcement.
- Installers / MSPs: A repeatable build: mount R1511, power up, connect controller I/O or Ethernet, verify cloud check-in—less post-install churn.
Featured Products
Robustel R1511 4G/LTE Router
RCMS Cloud Device Management
Talk to an Expert
Planning or scaling parcel lockers? Talk to an expert and we’ll map a rollout that fits your controllers, payment flows, and support model.