With E-band spectrum seen by some as the key to supporting microwave and meeting increased capacity requirements for both backhaul and fronthaul, it may be no surprise that Kenya’s leading operator Safaricom has gone down the E-band route.
In fact Safaricom has chosen Ericsson to supply microwave solutions based on the E-band platform to achieve multi Gbps backhaul capacity for mobile broadband nationwide coverage in Kenya.
Ericsson says that the solution – MINI-LINK 6352 – offers high capacity, efficient use of spectrum, low energy consumption and simplified operations and maintenance, pointing out that modern microwave transport capacity has moved from megabit-per-second capacity to gigabit-per-second capacity.
By deploying its microwave solution, Ericsson says Safaricom will benefit from multi-Gbps links as an alternative in areas where fibre is not viable. The links will help to provide capacity to assist the service provider to expand data growth through radio access network (RAN) and technology evolution.
Ericsson points out that, with network technology evolving and data demand increasing, backhaul capacity requirements will increase for RAN sites. To support demands for greater capacity, a wide range of transport aspects, such as spectrum usage, differentiated availability and the mix of fibre and microwave, becomes important.
This latest project is, it says, a testament to the capability of microwave to address growing data traffic demands.
According to Ericsson’s Microwave Outlook Report 2020, a total of 62 percent of backhaul connections globally are expected to be based on microwave by 2025.