Pharrowtech, which designs and develops CMOS-based mmWave hardware and software for next-generation wireless applications, announced the completion of a successful fixed wireless access (FWA) field trial with Telenet, a leading Belgian internet service provider (ISP) which is part of Liberty Global.
The trial demonstrated that mmWave FWA technology can deliver fiber-like throughput of 1Gbps in real-life scenarios.
The hardware used in the trial was built by Belgium-based telecom technology and manufacturing partner Unitron and contains radio chips (RFICs) and antenna arrays from Pharrowtech and a baseband processor unit delivered by semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics Corporation. The field trial was executed at the Telenet premises.
The locations selected in the field trial network topology were interconnected via 60GHz wireless nodes running a dynamic mesh control protocol. The locations were selected to be representative of typical deployments scenarios, and consisted of façade, rooftops, and poles in addition to a Telenet radio tower.
The trial, leveraging 60 GHz spectrum, achieved between 750Mbps and 1Gbps data rates, based on the distance between the links' end points and explored the capabilities of unlicensed mmWave technology to deliver reliable, high-speed consumer and business broadband access.
FWA is a highly attractive complementary technology to fiber, both in rural areas and more densely populated areas such as Flanders. This is because it offers fiber-like throughput and quality of service, at reduced cost and deployment time. FWA could thus help internet service providers, such as Telenet, reach customers at a lower cost than fiber, as well as increase the footprint to include users once considered financially unprofitable through fiber.
Luk Bruynseels, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Telenet
The initial results of the mmWaves FWA trial have been promising. This technology could one day reinforce our fiber strategy by enabling a fiber-like connectivity experience at a faster rollout speed yet reduced environmental impact when compared to wired solutions. Throughout the project we were able to work with and experience Pharrowtech’s network-grade RFICs showcasing the required performance levels within the trials which would be needed to consider any sort of scale up in any wireless gigabit connectivity experience.
Stephen Deleu, Chief Technology Officer, Unitron
This project has been a valuable opportunity for us to collaborate with respectable companies and showcase our expertise in RF technology. We are pleased with the progress made in our field trials and are looking forward to continuing our efforts in the development of 60GHz technology. As a European manufacturer and technology partner, we are excited to be a part of the future advancements in this field.
