Huawei has released a simplified 5G architecture

Huawei unveiled the first simplified 5G “1 + 2” radio relay architecture for industrial applications at the MWC 2019 Mobile World Congress.

With this simplified architecture with one dual-band antenna and two RF blocks with any bandwidth (6~86 GHz), Huawei 5G radio relay technology can provide up to 20 Gbps throughput for all transport network models. It saves 50% mast space and engineering cost. This is a new benchmark of ultra-high power and simplicity of hardware in the field of radio relay communication.

Peter Zhou, marketing director of Wireless Solutions at Huawei (right), presented a simplified 5G “1 + 2” microwave architecture at the MWC19 World Mobile Congress.

A frequent question.

In the era of 5G technology, bandwidth requirements for transport radio relay networks are increasing rapidly. When the required level of bandwidth cannot be provided by a single frequency band, which is quite common due to the limited frequency resource, operators have to use another frequency band.

This usually means that an additional antenna must be installed on the mast. In such cases, Huawei’s 5G “1 + 2” radio relay architecture can completely eliminate the need for mast space, because a single dual-band antenna can support any two frequency bands in the 6~86 GHz band. By using a dual-band antenna, significant savings in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) can be achieved.

Huawei’s unique CA (Carrier Aggregation) ODU can aggregate 4 carrier frequencies within one device. It can achieve a fourfold increase in bandwidth while reducing the amount of equipment required by 75% compared to a traditional ODU with a single carrier frequency. Thus, two radio frequency units (CA ODU or E-band), working with different frequency bands, can provide up to 8 carrier frequencies and a bandwidth of more than 10 Gbit/s.

With support for four carrier frequencies in the CA-ODU, as well as the ultra-high bandwidth of the E-band system, a single installation of these devices on the mast provides the ability to increase bandwidth multiple times by gradually activating it in the software.

In today’s 5G networks, increasing bandwidth is the most pressing challenge, and it continues to become more and more difficult. Without an advanced 5G radio relay solution, carriers are forced to spend large amounts of money to increase bandwidth, which means more frequent installation of more equipment on masts and more space on the mast. This leads to higher rents. In some cases, rising costs make it impossible to increase capacity.

The development of 5G

In 2018, Huawei released its first 5G radio relay solution, and has now deployed more than 20 5G transport networks around the world. The technological innovation and high commercial value of Huawei’s 5G radio relay solution were highly praised.

The solution won the Innovative Telecom Solution category of the prestigious Aegis Graham Bell Award in early 2019. This award is the highest award for innovative ICT technology in India.

During the World Mobile Congress MWC19, Huawei presented a more modern simplified 5G “1 + 2” radio relay architecture. This innovative technology provides a 10-fold increase in bandwidth compared to legacy radio-relay networks. It also requires even less mast space, making the transition to 5G networks as seamless as possible.

Peter Zhou, Marketing Director of Wireless Solutions at Huawei, commented, “The 5G radio relay solution provides fiber-level wireless bandwidth, while significantly reducing hardware requirements and facilitating the smooth evolution of networks. This will undoubtedly accelerate the deployment of 5G networks in the near future.”