The ultimate checklist for choosing a single platform for all your wireless backhaul needs

By Dudy Cohen 4 min read

Have you ever walked a mile in someone else's shoes? As wireless backhaul specialists, we take that phrase literally, especially when it comes to mobile operators' pain points. And from the feedback we keep hearing, what operators search for, may seem like a huge challenge: they want one single platform that meets all their wireless backhaul needs. But all of them. And it can be frustrating to find solutions that may cover all needs, but work with different platforms, requiring complicated integration. Or solutions that use different vendors; with similar challenges. And some solutions don't offer any unified way to manage all products, under one management interface.

Some solutions may also fail to be future-proof: they may solve capacity issues today, but what about when they need to support applications that gobble bandwidth? Then the migration to newer technologies can prove to be bumpy.

But what if you had a checklist (spoiler alert: we also have the answer), which could help you focus on the "must haves" for an all-in-one solution for wireless backhaul?

 

We did a lot of thinking on this one. So, without further ado, we present: the ultimate checklist for choosing one -- just one -- a platform that will meet all your wireless needs:

1. Does it cover short haul, long haul, and small cells?

2. Does it cover C-RAN backhaul if you already have a cloud-based Radio Access Network?

3. Does it support microwave, millimeter waves (mmW - E-band, V-band), and Sub-6Ghz frequencies, to meet all your requirements: whether it's for low or high frequencies, licensed or unlicensed spectrum?

4. Is it future-proof, offering easy, one-click migration when you need more capacity -and you will, going forward to 4.5G and 5G networks?

5. Does it offer features that greatly increase capacity to help you achieve enhanced operational efficiency, like:

  • line-of-sight (LOS) MIMO, which can quadruple bandwidth availability
  • cross polarization interference cancellation (XPIC), which enables you to transmit much more data, while negating any interference,
  • wideband channels (e.g., 80MHz spacing) to enable maximal utilization of the spectrum
  • space diversity, to overcome multipath fading?

6. Does the solution offer versatile configurations for LoS, near-line-of-sight (nLoS), and non-line-of-sight (NLoS)?

7. Does it support both IP and TDM technologies over the same hardware, enabling you to continue using legacy technologies, while smoothing the path to all-packet networks?

8. Is it available in the all-indoor, split mount, and all-outdoor models to suit your particular environmental requirements?

9. Does it support ring, chain, mesh, and star configurations, for maximum flexibility in setting up a network?

10. Does it provide complete network visibility, via an easy-to-use, customizable network management system designed for managing large-scale microwave networks?

11. Does it feature a unified, SDN-ready operating system that takes the "know one, know them all" approach, enabling you to quickly deploy and efficiently manage wireless backhaul links and networks throughout your entire network infrastructure?

12. Does it save your CAPEX costs, providing spectrum efficiency techniques that enable you to use smaller antennas and save on high spectrum fees?

These important points are worth reviewing from time to time. And after you do, continue the conversation with Ceragon, which can offer you a customized wireless backhaul solution to meet all your requirements?

 

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