Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/10530-cambridge-broadband-networks-offers-new-options-for-microwave-backhaul

Cambridge Broadband Networks Offers New Options for Microwave Backhaul

January 14, 2011

Cambridge Broadband Networks Ltd. has launched VectaStar Gigabit, which it claims to be the world’s first microwave backhaul product that enables network designers to create point-to-multipoint networks and individual links using a single platform. VectaStar Gigabit, which provides 150 Mb/s Ethernet link capacity, is a ‘zero-footprint’ design that eliminates the need for external cabinets or indoor units, dramatically reducing deployment time and design complexity in the construction and upgrade of mobile broadband networks.

VectaStarGigabit is a flexible, rapid-response microwave backhaul solution that incorporates the same, spectrum sharing, point-to-multipoint topology found in the radio access network. The elimination of the requirement for any indoor equipment to support the multipoint functionality means that it can be deployed for individual links, stand-alone sectors or as a PMP hub.

Designers can select VectaStar when they first start planning their network – laying down individual links and then expanding them to multipoint sectors or hubs as their network grows. VectaStar Gigabit integrates all operation and control functions into a ‘power over Ethernet’, zero-footprint access point and incorporates gigabit Ethernet optical and copper interfaces throughout, to ensure that the full resources of the system are available to all devices in the network.

John Naylon, Head of Development at Cambridge Broadband Networks, said, “Microwave technologies are a crucial element in the creation of mobile backhaul and access networks but the demand for data services has dramatically changed the traffic profile. VectaStar Gigabit gives network designers the ability to manage data traffic using the inherently more efficient point-to-multipoint architecture, but provides the flexibility to incorporate point-to-point links where appropriate. Recent measurements from a live network showed that VectaStar was saving over 63 percent of backhaul bandwidth compared to the provisioning that would have been required for alternative microwave technologies.”