If you want to cause a stir, walk into a room full of seasoned technicians and mention microwave. Citing the twin fears of limited capacity and weather-dependent performance, many will offer stories of past problems without realizing that, like many other things in life, microwave has moved on.
The Future is not the Past
The legacy-based, analog solutions of the past bear no resemblance to modern microwave. Dismiss the new developments, and you could find yourself missing out on the many business benefits that today’s digital radio technologies bring.
Increasingly, organizations are discovering the advantages of a converged network platform that combines Carrier Ethernet and point-to-point digital radio to provide a new, highly effective method of voice and data transport. With the benefit of alternative thinking, smart solutions providers are overcoming terrestrial challenges and building advanced communications networks in some surprisingly remote areas – where often dial up had been the only option.
Two Strong Technologies
In response to our appetite for higher bandwidth and budget-conscious performance, over the past decade Carrier Ethernet has moved to centre stage – and continues to evolve today. Checking all the boxes, it’s a quicker, simpler and cheaper way to connect people with information. Plus, with Ethernet, it’s easy to build extensions or make adjustments down the road. And terrestrial microwave has proven to be an excellent partner for fiber in access networks – playing an increasingly valuable role in support of rich media applications like video, VoIP and disaster recovery.
The Question of Capacity
It’s time to dispel some of the myths and reveal the facts about microwave:
- Gigabit capacity is already a reality – and it’s enough for most Carrier Ethernet applications.
- Service-aware traffic management allows you to differentiate voice and data packets by type, to avoid bottlenecks and smooth demand.
- Adaptive code modulation technology increases bandwidth capacity and also means you can deploy microwave equipment in densely populated areas.
- Nodal function optimizes radio bandwidth resources and makes it easier for you to scale.
- Packet technology is flexible, which means you can use microwave to get an optimal increase in data rates.
- Over-air capacity is increased with microwave by using multiple transmission channels at different carrier frequencies. Capacity has also grown through enhancements like cross polarization, interference cancellation and data compression.
The Latest Weather Report
Although weather can affect microwave, technology enhancements have made it easier to deal with bad conditions, and custom-engineered links are specifically designed to account for the elements:
- Adaptive modulation protects your network from weather effects by varying radio throughput, making adjustments according to the performance of air interface channels.
- Frequency diversity makes your network resilient to bad-weather fading.
A New Form of Transport
The evolution of microwave technology offers a valuable opportunity to combine Carrier Ethernet services with digital radio to provide end-to-end network transport services. Offering limitless reach, this converged platform will give you the performance and capacity to communicate faster and more flexibly at a price that suits your CFO – even when geography is not on your side.
