Summary Bullets:
• At Mobile World Congress (MWC), Ericsson introduced a new E-band radio with increased power output to extend the length of backhaul connections, and Intracom added a beam-tracking antenna to maintain link alignment.
• Wireless backhaul specialist Ceragon promoted a long-awaited product it hopes to unveil later this year, the first product based on the vendor’s new in-house silicon: an E-band radio promising a capacity of 100 Gbps.
At MWC, network equipment vendors introduced a wave of new products to help operators continue their 5G rollouts, including a large number of new radios. Wireless backhaul vendors followed suit, though with far fewer new products.
Ericsson introduced its new MINI-LINK 6355, an E-band radio with twice the maximum power output of previous products. That higher power output (24 dBm) allows operators to deploy 10% longer links, reaching further and potentially requiring fewer hops in some cases. The 6355 also includes the distinguishing Radio Deep Sleep energy-saving feature Ericsson introduced last year. And it features 25 Gbps interfaces, a sign of growing capacity needs in wireless backhaul driven by mid-band 5G deployments.
Intracom Telecom announced a dual-beam tracking antenna for both E-band and traditional microwave spectrum. The new antenna – created by Greece-based Intracom’s Italian subsidiary, Faini Telecommunication Systems – includes a two-dimensional beam-tracking feature that keeps links aligned if the masts the radios are mounted on should sway in the wind or shift due to solar warming. Sway compensation solutions for E-band radios were part of a sweeping trend at MWC23, where Intracom introduced a gyroscope-stabilized antenna. Its new beam-tracking feature suggests this area may remain a continued focus of innovation in the sector, aimed at increasing precision and reliability by increasing network intelligence.
Another competitor in wireless backhaul space, Ceragon, promoted a new product at MWC24 planned for availability later this year: an E-band radio that will be the first product based on the company’s new in-house silicon, the Neptune system-on-a-chip. The new product will support 4000 MHz channels, according to Ceragon, and, when two units containing four chips are used together, they will support a capacity of 100 Gbps – higher than any competitor currently claims.
Ceragon has been working on its Neptune SoC for years and hopes that its commercialization will put it years ahead of rivals. And the year that Neptune is arriving is unlike any other. The wireless backhaul vendor landscape of 2024 has been thoroughly reshaped by a pair of recent acquisitions: US-based Aviat purchased the wireless backhaul business of Japan’s NEC, and Ceragon acquired smaller player Siklu.
While Siklu gave Ceragon more scale, diversity, and resiliency, Aviat’s acquisition made it the largest specialist in the wireless backhaul space, underscoring the importance of the technological leap Ceragon hopes to make this year. Another reason why the time is right for Ceragon to make a major new product move: Aviat, which will continue to focus on integrating its new assets for the next several quarters, did not announce any new backhaul products at MWC24. All these signs suggest that for the wireless backhaul space, 2025 could be even more interesting.