RAN Innovation: Huawei's 5G Microwave Headed for Full Commercialization

At the Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2018, Huawei released the SingleRAN Pro solution, including 5G microwave. This officially launches the CA ODU and modular antenna of 5G microwave, kicking off a new journey of full commercial use of 5G microwave.

Huawei's 5G microwave solution, the industry's first, features ultra-high bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and smooth evolution. It also boasts 5G-oriented features such as the innovative CA ODU, modular antenna, SDB, ultra-low latency IF board, and high-power ODU. Huawei's 5G microwave effectively meets bandwidth and latency requirements of 5G networks and effectively reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) of network construction. This helps customers quickly recover their investments, and reduces fiber laying requirements. By improving mobile broadband coverage, more users can enjoy 5G services in the future.

The CA ODU is the industry's first dual-channel CA ODU. Using a new-generation chip, the CA ODU provides four times the transmission capacity of a traditional ODU by integrating four channels into its hardware. Using CA ODUs reduces the number of required ODUs, reduces tower space by up to half, and reduces tower-climbing costs involved in capacity expansion. High-bandwidth microwave technology reduces TCO and is easy to deploy.

Moreover, innovative modular antennas can be used to upgrade legacy antennas by simply replacing modular components and reusing the dish. This allows capacity to be doubled through single-to-dual polarization, and inter-band frequency changes can be implemented. Using modular antennas reduces installation costs by 60% and shortens the upgrade time by 80%.

Since the start of 2018, Huawei's 5G microwave technology has been verified and deployed by multiple operators.

In May, the single-to-dual-polarization solution using modular antennas was successfully deployed in Southeast Asia on thousands of hops of microwave links. Huawei microwave technologies greatly improved the capacity of the customer's 4G networks.

In June, the 4x4 MIMO solution, featuring single-hop transmission over 8.4 km, was commercially deployed in Southeast Asia, the industry's first commercial use. The maximum throughput of traditional microwave links was increased to 1 Gbps @ 28 MHz, significantly improving the customer's network bandwidth.

In July, Finland took the lead in using 5G microwave to build a new-generation microwave bearer network. They achieved 10GE to site network-wide, providing a low-latency network topology of 2 to 3 hops from microwave to optical. This meets 5G network evolution requirements and reduces TCO by 32%.

In October, the 2+0 4x4 MIMO first office application (FOA) test of 5G microwave was completed in Kuwait. Two 56 MHz frequencies achieved 8+0 with a maximum capacity of 4.5 Gbps.

Recently, 5G microwave completed the industry's first CA field verification in Myanmar. Under two 56 MHz spectrums, the throughput of a single ODU reached 2.9 Gbps. This greatly reduces customers' deployment costs for any capacity level.

In this MBBF, 5G service experience was delivered by 5G microwave, demonstrating the technical capabilities and practical benefits of Huawei's 5G microwave technology.

Huawei will continue to respond to operators' requirements in the 5G era, enhancing the comprehensive capabilities of 5G microwave solutions. Huawei will provide operators with future-oriented and top-value mobile broadband networks, allowing more users to share better 5G networks.