NEC hits 10Gbps with outdoor radio in the 150GHz-band

NEC has demonstrated bidirectional 10Gbps outdoor transmission over a span of 150m using all-outdoor packet microwave radios operating in the D-band (130-174.8GHz). The radios use customized RF modules powered by a new RF IC chipset.

In the demonstration, the frequency points for the transmitter and the receiver were 142GHz and 157Hz respectively, the modulation scheme was 128QAM, and modulation speed was 1.6Gbaud.

NEC plans to support this technology in its iPASOLINK series of super compact microwave radio products. Targeted applications include both mobile fronthaul and backhaul networks, which are required to be ultra-high capacity in order to support 5G commercialization.

Additional field tests were conducted throughout a 4 month period over an approximate 1km link distance as part of preparation for practical applications. Going forward, NEC is seeking to confirm parameters necessary for link design based on the recommendations of the ITU-R (*2), such as how to expand to D-band when considering the relationship between rainfall and communication availability.