Pharrowtech, Telenet and Unitron Secure Grant for FWA Field Trial

Pharrowtech, a fabless semiconductor vendor of mmWave radio frequency (RF) technology, has joined a consortium supported by the Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO).  

The consortium includes Telenet, a leading internet service provider that is part of Liberty Global, and Unitron, a leading wireless equipment maker, and will roll out a field trial for high-speed wireless internet access to homes and businesses in 2022. It will validate the performance of Pharrowtech’s mmWave technology and further establish the 60GHz band for outdoor fixed wireless broadband access for tier-1 service providers. 

Pharrowtech delivers a cost-effective, high performance, carrier-grade 60GHz mmWave solution based on CMOS process technology for this market. The technology is reliable and robust enough to cope with the outdoors environment, while delivering superior performance compared to alternatives in the market. It enables high speed internet in urban, suburban and rural locations alike, while also being cost-effective to roll out. The field trial’s primary focus is to unleash the potential of next generation broadband via millimetre-wave (mmWave) Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). FWA networks provide residential properties and businesses with Gigabit internet access through a wireless connection, with a total cost of ownership at a fraction of fiber’s.

The globally available, un-licensed spectrum around 60GHz is perfectly suited to deliver very high data rates, low-latency, cost effective FWA. The VLAIO grant will be used to support preparation and execution for a Telenet field trial of Pharrowtech’s mmWave RFIC technology using Unitron’s network elements, as well as state-of-the-art beamforming and mesh control software developed by imec’s research laboratories.