November 2008

We are seeing an increased focus on backhaul by the carriers as their data-centric Next Generation Networks plans start to materialise.  This issue is only likely to grow in importance over time as base station capacity grows exponentially taking data rates from 10s to 100s of Mbps per site.  Wireless backhaul already commands 25% or more of a wireless operator’s capex budget and will clearly rise significantly. The next few years will see an explosion in alternative backhaul providers and advances in backhaul technology.

In the mobile environment, there is also a need to support higher data rates, driven by multi-media handset applications and increasingly faster air-interface technologies.  With the move towards the more scalable and cost effective Ethernet standard, we are now seeing Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) interfaces becoming common on both base stations and backhaul equipment.  Many vendors now support GbE backhaul, although usually at sub-Gbps speeds.  The use of GbE backhaul may soon become a necessity, with 3GPP announcing work on the next step of radio evolution – LTE Advanced which is further enhancing LTE capabilities towards a targeted 1 Gbps handset data rate. Gigabeam’s WiFiber already offer products in the upper millimetre-wave bands that can easily support Gbps speeds.

GigaBeam — the world-class proven commercial leader in multi-gigabit wireless communication solutions for the “entire last mile" — will manufacture, lease, install, and service high-speed point-to-point wireless communication access systems that are faster to deploy than fibre, more reliable than Free Space Optics (FSO), higher speed than microwave, and superior performance than any competing technology.

www.gigabeam.com