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Microwave long haul

High capacities over long distances

Microwave long haul – cost efficient solutions to bring connection to remote areas

Long haul microwave solutions for high capacities over long distances

Long haul microwave solutions are used where there is a need for high capacities over relative long distances in rural and remote areas. Due to the cost efficiency of microwave products it is also increasingly used in areas where optical fiber technically can be an option, but the deployment of fiber would be more expensive.

Why long haul and how to use it?

long haul microwave

Ericsson’s microwave long haul systems utilizes the frequency range of 5 – 13 GHz. They provide the best-in-class spectrum efficiency and make the most out of the available frequency spectrum. Typical for long haul systems is that they use many channels over a hop. They can enable capacities up to 10 Gbps per hop, and make very long hops, up to 200 km.
The regular use cases for Long haul are creating a backbone network in remote or rural areas, redundancy for fiber and reaching sites where fiber is difficult or too costly, like over sea or across a deep valley.

What are the key benefits of long haul?

The long haul systems can enable capacities up to 10 Gbps per hop over up to 35 km. It can also make very long hops, up to 200 km long with a lower capacity.

5G in the rural areas require high capacities over long distances, exactly what long haul delivers. So long haul is perfect match for bringing 5G out beyond the city.

Fiber can be costly to implement over large distances or across difficult terrain like high mountains, or a lake. Long haul can be a fast and cost efficient alternative.

How is long haul used worldwide?

1461 km of backbone network over a large isolated and remote area

How to further increase capacity?

Rural backbone site with split long haul, ERS context image

Can we use carrier aggregation in a long-haul system?

A 1T1R microwave radio, with carrier aggregation, like the TRXs for Long haul, supports two different channels simultaneously, instead of only one. When we use carrier aggregation, we benefit from greater channel capacity while using half the number of radios and filters. As the same output power needs to be distributed over two channels and since the total bandwidth is wider than one channel the maximum Pout needs to be reduced a little. The result is a 50% increase in capacity when using carrier aggregation in a Long haul system. The HW and power consumption is dramatically reduced, compared to using two different microwave radios.

Compact multi-band solutions for high capacity

Compact multi-band solutions for high capacity

Combining two or more frequency bands for one link is increasingly common in our mobile networks as we search for greater transport capacity. In long haul, you often have two very large antennas for space diversity, between 1.2m and 4.6m. Adding two more of these, for a multi-band solution, might mean building a much more robust tower or even a second tower, rapidly increasing civil engineering costs. Therefore, it is better to have the same antennas for two adjacent frequency bands, such as 6L+6U or 7+8GHz, to significantly reduce the antenna and tower costs while enabling a capacity increase thanks to the added spectrum.
A long haul system can also be combined with a shorthaul system. If enough channels isn’t available in the long haul frequency, combine the hop with a short haul radio. One example is to combine a long haul system with 4 x80MHz channels @ 11 GHz with MINI-LINK 6291, together with a shorthaul system 4x112MHz channels in a 18GHz MINI-LINK 6321. Both radios are using one and the same indoor unit MINI-LINK 6694, enabling a total of up to 9Gbps.

Rural backbone site with traditional long haul, ERS context image

How proper microwave planning can increase capacity and reduce costs

Making the right interpretation of the planning data can help you better estimate your true capacity on multi-channel long haul hops – this will enable hops where you thought it was too expensive. It also helps you from over-spending on the backhaul making more links possible.
More capacity, less equipment and a lower cost.

Explore our products for microwave long haul

long haul microwave

MINI-LINK 6200

MINI-LINK 6200 brings 5G Transport outside the urban area - with market leading capacities over long distances, up to 10 Gbps over 35 km. MINI-LINK 6200 has L2 and L3 support and up to 5 x 10 G interfaces. As necessity for 5G, it has low latency and support for phase and time sync. Four different building practices are available depending on the capacity needed and the space available on site.

long haul microwave

Multi-band booster antennas

This antenna enables a cost efficient installation of a multi-band booster system combining long haul and shorthaul radios in one single antenna. The antenna is dually polarized on both bands, allowing two integrated short haul radios to be installed and two long haul connections using flexible waveguides. It significantly reduces tower foot print and simplifies installations drastically for your multi-band booster hops.

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