E-band: A technical overview
Future Wireless Technologies Forum
2
E Band
Paving the road to ubiquitous fibre access
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
Spectrum Management
3

Preventing and mitigating interference
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
E band becomes viable
4



Advances in semiconductor device technology,
resulting in commercially-available E-band costeffective MMICs.
Increased congestion in the microwave bands (638GHz)
Unprecedented need for high capacity in mobile
networks
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
Performance
5

1 Gbps @ 5 km
 99.9%

availability
1 Gbps @ 1,5 km
 99.99%
availability
(South African weather)
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
Performance (2)
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



Less impacted by fog / dust / smog than FSO
Front-To-Back ratio of more than 50dB
Beamwidth <1 degree
Wide channels for high capacity
Spectral / Channel reuse in close proximity
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
Technical Challenges
7

Trade offs between
 Spectral
efficiency and radio complexity
 Power consumption and bandwidth
 Modulation scheme and distance
 Ultimately…
COST
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
Pseudo-Light Licensing Works
8

Multiple 17 GHz links
 Adjacent
on highsite
 Channel re-use within 10 degrees
 Informal registration with distributor
 Fails
when other vendor equipment is deployed
 BUT
interference issues mutually resolved
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
United States Model
9




71-76 GHz & 81-86 GHz
No mandatory channelisation
Feasible for wide-band, simple modulation
Channels of 1+ GHz
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
European Model
10

19 channels per band
 71-76
GHz & 81-86 GHz
 250 MHz each
 62.5 MHz sub-channels

Encourage spectral efficiency
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
Light Licensing
11

Administrative Incentive Pricing
 Channel
size
 Distance
 Regional


demand
‘light license factor’: approx x0.1 or x0.05
1 Gbps @ 1 km must be <R5000 pm
 Compete
with typical dark fibre costs
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
Light Licensing (2)
12






No regulator input for registration
Initially – no automated radio planning
Simple GIS database
Flexible billing (monthly & automated)
Order of application/registration
No block assignments, all links registered
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd
Multisource
Thanks!
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Questions ?
14
Graham Beneke
[email protected]
http://www.multisource.co.za
Graham Beneke - Multisource Telecoms (Pty) Ltd