Bar Set for Scalable Mobile 3G/4G Backhaul Solutions
Bar Set for Scalable Mobile 3G/4G Backhaul Solutions
25th March, 2009
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US : BridgeWave Communications announced the launch of the FlexPort family of high-capacity 80 GHz radios for mobile backhaul. Purpose-built for mobile operators and service providers, FlexPort offers maximum flexibility for cost-effective backhaul by supporting both today’s legacy traffic along with the expanded requirements of future 4G traffic, enabling carriers to migrate to next generation networks on their own timeline.
With mobile traffic more than doubling each year due to rapid adoption of wireless broadband, development of powerful new devices, such as the iPhone, Fuze, and Storm and increased use of data intensive applications, operators are compelled to build out more robust broadband networks to keep pace. Studies show that backhaul accounts for approximately 50 percent of mobile network operational costs. As a result, operators are demanding backhaul not only be robust and scalable to accommodate future application and capacity needs, but also highly cost effective.
“As carriers migrate to 4G networks, they will need to develop cost-effective backhaul strategies that do not forsake their legacy TDM investments while accounting for the stress that bandwidth hungry IP-based 4G applications will place on networks,” said Earl Lum, president of EJL Wireless Research. “Mobile operators must take this “future-proofing” into account to address future bandwidth needs and network traffic flexibility to minimize network build-out costs and investments, resulting in more profitable mobile data services.”
With the launch of FlexPort, BridgeWave, the proven leader in 80 GHz solutions with greater than 70 percent market share, offers the first carrier-class backhaul platform for 4G migration. Operating in the 80 GHz frequency band, where multi-gigahertz allocations yield multi-gigabit transmission rates, FlexPort is a single Outdoor Unit (ODU) platform that connects today’s TDM-based mobile base stations, while simultaneously supporting full-rate gigabit IP transport for tomorrow’s 4G networks. FlexPort’s innovation in the high-frequency 80 GHz spectrum provides up to 1.5 Gbps of capacity with planned product rollouts in the coming months for rates up to 2.6 Gbps – five to ten times the capacity of single-channel, lower licensed frequency products at significantly lower per megabit cost.
“Carriers are facing a perfect storm in 2009 with growing mobile traffic, the need to support native TDM and IP, public pressures and costs of 4G, and an economy that has yet to rebound,” said Idan Bar Sade, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Product Management at BridgeWave Communications. “This backdrop means carriers need a flexible product strategy that addresses the scalability and capacity issues for their networks today, while ultimately making their 4G initiatives competitive and profitable with a low total cost of ownership.”
FlexPort includes several key capabilities critical for the successful implementation of robust backhaul networks:
- Scalable, Future-proof Backhaul – FlexPort provides simultaneous transmission of up to four native SONET/SDH payloads and gigabit Ethernet streams over a single RF carrier.
- Ease of Network Planning – FlexPort provides frequency agility not seen in any other 80 GHz product. As cell density increases, the ability to tune anywhere in the 80 GHz band greatly simplifies network planning.
- Efficient Spectrum Use – FlexPort utilizes QPSK modulation, providing improved spectral use compared to other 80 GHz solutions. This translates to lower licensing costs as well as better frequency reuse/conservation of the 80 GHz resource.
- Carrier Ethernet Management – Unlike any other 80 GHz solution on the market, FlexPort’s advanced Carrier Ethernet Network Management (Ethernet OAM & CFM) enables end-to-end management and monitoring required by carrier-class next-generation networks.
Availability:
The FlexPort family of carrier-class gigabit wireless systems will be available in the second quarter. More information on FlexPort products can be found here: www.bridgewave.com/products.