
E-band link in Russia longest achieved at 51km
The link from Dutch wireless equipment maker Infinet with operating partner Flex used its Quanta 70 platform between the towns of Klin and Dubna in the Moscow region. Wireless systems in the 71-76 GHz bands are normally designed for establishing millimetre-wave radio links over distances ranging from hundreds of meters to several kilometres only, all in clear line of sight (LOS) conditions.
The millimetre-wave link used 70 cm (2 ft) antennas mounted on telecoms towers at heights of 100 m at each end. The antennas were aligned with a beamwidth of only 0.5 degrees. Over a period of one week, the link was tested continuously and delivered stable data streams in clear weather conditions.
“Our recent market launch of the Quanta 70 product family was a true success and it marks our first foray into the millimetre-wave bands,” said Andrey Koynov, Chief Technology Officer at Infinet Wireless. “We are in no doubt that the future of fixed wireless communication lies in these bands. And today, we have achieved outstanding results. We strongly believe that we have just set a global record for deploying the world’s longest wireless link in frequency bands over 70 GHz. Many thanks to the Flex team who assisted us in delivering what looked initially next to impossible!”
The Quanta 70 Point-to-Point system is based on the company’s Octopus software defined radio (SDR) platform and provides a throughput up to 480 Mbps in a 125 MHz channel width. The unlicensed 71-76 GHz band (also known as E-band) is particularly attractive to telecom and commercial operators as it has less interference than lower bands and less regulations in many countries around the globe.
Flex is one of the largest broadband Internet access operators in the Moscow region, covering the entire 44,300 km² of the Moscow region with more than 8,500 subscriber units and 200 base stations, as well as 500 point-to-point connections with a signal range up to 55 km. Clients include the Moscow Region Government, the regional Ministry of Education, Sberbank of Russia, Rostelecom, phone retailers Euroset and Svyaznoy, retail chains Dixy and Magnit, as well as many municipal and corporate customers.
Flex is used as test platform for InfiNet’s portfolio, including the InfiLINK XG that has a range of 11 to 52 km using the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, providing link speeds of 120 Mbit/s in the 40 MHz band, up to 60 Mbit/s in the 20 MHz band and up to 20 Mbit/s in the 10 MHz band.
“For many years, we have considered InfiNet the main driver of the broadband market. The main advantage of the manufacturer remains the quality of the products. The equipment offers rich functionality, reliability and the highest level of service. Commercial advantages are no less important for us — we do not incur any additional costs when installing the equipment. There are no hidden pitfalls, everything is transparent, and we always know what we get, ” said Pavel Bespalov, CEO at FLEX.
infinetwireless.com/products/quanta-70
