Radio Frequency Systems (RFS) announced the launch of its new PrimeLine TowerBooster microwave antennas to significantly increase capacity for 5G backhaul.
The system combines the commonly used 6 and 11 GHz bands into a single reflector with the same form factor as existing single-band antennas. This dual-band, dual-polarized antenna can allow operators to quadruple capacity on microwave links compared to single-band, single-polarized microwave antennas and double capacity compared to single-band, dual-polarized options.
Operators are able to deploy this solution without needing to expand their site footprint as the antennas can be manufactured with the same form factor as existing 6, 8, 10 and 12 foot single-band microwave antennas. This enables one-for-one replacement, with no need to purchase a second antenna, pay for additional transportation costs or lease additional tower space, without compromising on RF performance. When compared to using two single-band antennas, the total cost of ownership (TCO) for operators is reduced by 13 percent in year one and by a minimum of 25 percent by year five.
To ensure optimum electrical and mechanical performance, and microwave link reliability the PrimeLine TowerBooster 6 and 11 GHz dual-band antennas meet the highest industry standards including ETSI Class 3 ultra-high performance and part 101 Cat A. The solution minimizes interference by using high cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) between the two bands to support high-capacity cross-polarization interference cancellation (XPIC). It also maximizes RF performance including link quality and availability by maximizing the effects of link diversity in a single antenna, this also helps to mitigate multipath fading on long-distance links.
The PrimeLine TowerBooster complements RFS short-haul, dual-band antennas to support high-capacity, low-latency 80 GHz (E-Band) transmissions as well as higher availability 15, 18 or 23 GHz transmissions in a single antenna, meaning RFS now offers a range of dual-band products suitable for every environment. This includes in areas with severe climate conditions as the antennas are also available in high wind, high ice configurations which have proven performance in harsh environments including on mountaintops.
“With 5G network rollouts ramping up all over the world, microwave users need a reliable, high performance and cost-effective solution to increase capacity on long-haul microwave links,” said Benjamin Gao, RFS regional product manager, Microwave Antenna Systems. “Our 6 and 11 GHz PrimeLine TowerBooster microwave antennas give microwave users the capacity and performance they need to reliably backhaul 5G data over long distances with low TCO. When combined with our 2 foot short-haul, dual-band microwave antennas, mobile operators have a complete multi-band microwave solution to efficiently backhaul large volumes of 5G data from urban environments to suburbs and beyond.”