Backhaul can be a major gating factor in a carrier’s analysis of potential small cell deployments, especially in outdoor venues where Ethernet is not an option. Chipmakers see opportunity in the wireless backhaul market, and are addressing the need with a variety of solutions.
Broadcom says its is launching the industry’s first 10Gpbs millimeter wave SoC. The company says the BCM85100 can deliver up to four times the capacity offered by existing solutions. The company is promoting the BCM85100 SoC to carriers as a unified solutions because it delivers anywhere from 0 – 10 Gbps over single antenna, single channel and single polarization.
“The millimeter wave solution represents the next step in addressing these capacity needs and is proving to be a viable solution for backhaul in metro areas where range limitations aren’t always problematic,” said Richard Webb, who directs the microwave and carrier Wi-Fi research at Infonetics Research. “Reaching 10 Gbps is a major milestone for the industry and raises the bar as it is an integrated SoC that will further drive the millimeter wave market.”
Altera says Escape Communications will use its FPGAs and QAM modem IP cores for microwave backhaul solutions. Escape has optimized its backhaul modem IP for use on Altera Cyclone V, Arria V, and Arria V SoC FPGAs operating at bandwidths of up to 1 GHz and modulation types from QPSK to 4096 QAM. A link operating at 1 GHz can provide in excess of 5 Gbps throughput.
“With Altera’s silicon and Ethernet IP and Escape’s field-proven core modem IP, equipment makers can achieve product differentiation and feature agility,” said Scott Bibaud, senior vice president of the communications and broadcast business unit at Altera.
