Ovum White Paper - AOptix Intellimax

7/21/2019 Ovum White Paper - AOptix Intellimax

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Laser-Radio Provides NewAlternative for Backhaul

Meeting operator requirements for capacity, reach,and availability


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2 2015 Ovum. All rights reserved. www.ovum.com

Summary................................................................. 3

Ovum view...........................................................3

Introduction ............................................................ 3

Requirements for LTE mobile backhaul ................. 4

What do operators need? ...................................4

Solutions for mobile backhaul ................................ 5

Fixed solutions for mobile backhaul: Fiber .......5

Wireless solutions for mobile backhaul ............5

Financial analysis ................................................... 6

AOptix Intellimax:

A New Alternative for Transport ............................ 9

Introduction ............................................................ 9

Diverse frequencies create robust platform .......... 9

Compensating for twist and sway ................... 10

Simplified installation and link alignment...... 10

AOptix and critical macrocell

backhaul requirements ........................................ 10

Fiber performance

at wireless economics .......................................... 11

Contents

Copyright Ovum 2015. All rights reserved.

The contents of this product are protected by international copyright laws, database rights and other intellectual property rights. The owner of these rights is Informa Telecoms and Media Limited, our affiliates orother third party licensors. All product and company names and logos contained within or appearing on this product are the trademarks, service marks or trading names of their respective owners, including Informa

Telecoms and Media Limited. This product may not be copied, reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of Informa Telecoms and Media Limited.Whilst reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the information and content of this product was correct as at the date of first publication, neither Informa Telecoms and Media Limited nor any person

engaged or employed by Informa Telecoms and Media Limited accepts any liability for any errors, omissions or other inaccuracies. Readers should indepen dently verify any facts and figures as no liability can beaccepted in this regard - readers assume full responsibility and risk accordingly for their use of such information and content.Any views and/or opinions expressed in this product by individual authors or contributors are their personal views and/or opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of Informa Telecoms and

Media Limited.

About the authors

Dimitris Mavrakis

Dimitris Mavrakis is a Principal Analyst with Ovum. He is

part of the Intelligent Networks team where he covers a

range of topics including LTE, LTE-A, 5G, SDN, NFV, WiFi,

IoT, network APIs and identifying how under-the-radar

technologies may disrupt or improve the mobile value

chain.

Dimitris is also actively involved in Ovum's consulting

business and has led several projects on behalf of Tier-1

operators and key vendors.

Ron Kline

Ron Kline is a principal analyst in Ovums Network

Infrastructure group. With over 29 years of industry

experience that includes 18 years working for a large

North American service provider, Ron has an in-depth

knowledge of network technology combined with a strong

business-oriented approach to problem solving. He isresponsible for the overall direction of Ovums North

American optical networking research, its network

infrastructure vendor strategies research, and its

mobile backhaul research. Ron specializes in DWDM,

bandwidth management, aggregation, and carrier

Ethernet technologies used in both wireline and wireless

networking applications.


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Ovum view Cost, capacity, distance, and availability are significant

challenges for mobile network operators and others

with large transmission requirements for backhaul.

Fiber is the preferred solution but it is not always

available; weather conditions can have an impact on

microwave and millimeter-wave radio systems that willthen affect transmission performance.

Hybrid laser-radio solutions based on combining free

space optics and millimeter-wave radio have emerged

that meet mobile operator critical requirements for

capacity, reach and availability.

IntroductionCost and reliability are significant challenges for

mobile network operators that have large transmission

requirements to support backhaul applications. Depending

on the type of topology deployed in a typical 3G networktoday, backhaul requirements could exceed 1Gbps on the

transmission network used to aggregate backhaul traffic

to the network core. Moving to LTE and LTE-A significantly

raises capacity requirements on the transmission network

used to backhaul traffic to the network core. Furthermore,

in dense urban environments where the capacities are the

highest, the number of cell sites increases substantially,

placing additional pressure on the backhaul network.

If given a choice, most operators will choose fiber as their

preferred backhaul solution due to its reliability and nearlylimitless capacity. However, fiber deployment costs are high

and deployment times are long, plus it is often impractical

or impossible to install a fiber network. Therefore, nearly

half of all mobile backhaul globally is provided wirelessly,

using microwave and millimeter-wave RF technology

that is reaching critical limitations for the capacity and

performance required for LTE-A and 5G networks.

Figure 1 shows the theoretical mobile backhaul bandwidth

requirements for a single sector; total mobile backhaul

(MBH) capacity for a cell site is determined by adding the

number of sectors.

Summary

In brief

In todays 4G/LTE wireless networks, there are many cell-site topologies, configurations, and sizes, each with a specificset of backhaul capacity and performance needs. As we enter into the era of LTE-Advanced, single cell sites will start

to need capacities of 1Gbps and greater as a baseline capacity. With 5G looming on the horizon, carriers are now

recognizing the need to plan for backhaul capacity growth beyond 1Gbps.

Fiber delivers the capacity, reach, and availability required by most modern telecoms applications including mobile

backhaul. However, fiber deployment, even when it is feasible, can take months, partly because obtaining rights of way

can be challenging, notwithstanding the high deployment cost.

Given these challenges, mobile operators are turning to wireless-based microwave and millimeter-wave technologies,

but these technologies often sacrifice performance in the three most critical network parameters of capacity,

distance, and availability. A hybrid solution that combines an optical laser (through free space) and millimeter-waveradio has emerged that is unique in its ability to provide a combination of guaranteed high capacity, extended reach,

and high availability at an affordable cost.

5G

LTE-AdvancedR10

(100MHz)

LTER8(20MHz)

LTE(10MHz)

WiMAX(10MHz)

HSPA+R7

HSUPAR6

HSDPAR5

EV-DORev.B

EV-DORev.A

1xEV-DO

WCDMAR4

Mbps

0.1

1

10

100

1000

100000

10000

Figure 1: Per-sector MBH bandwidth requirements for mobile

technologies

Source: Ovum


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Requirements for LTE mobile backhaulWhat do operators need?Cost, capacity, distance, and reliability (availability) are

significant challenges for mobile network operators and

others with large transmission requirements for backhauland access network applications. As 4G/LTE capabilities

are added to todays 2G/3G networks, macrocell

backhaul and aggregation network requirements are

rising rapidly from megabits per second to gigabits per

second. Although fiber is the ideal solution due to its near

limitless capacity and high availability, much of the time

it is impractical or impossible to install, giving operators

a dilemma of how best they can support requirements for

capacity, distance, and availability.

When looking for an alternative to fiber, the three metricsof capacity, availability, and distance must be assessed

simultaneously to evaluate technologies for carrier-grade

wireless transport. Table 1 compares key parameters for

most macrocell backhaul wireless transport options.

Capacity

Backhaul bandwidth requirements for LTE and LTE-A

are increasing, as indicated in Figure 1. Traffic in a 3G

network gets aggregated as it makes its way to the

network core and can easily exceed 1Gbps on some

backhaul links. LTE in particular requires 10 timesthe bandwidth of a 3G network and LTE-A bandwidth

requirements are six times that of LTE (nearly 100 times

higher than 3G) pushing backhaul requirements to the

range of 12Gbps for each base station. While 5G has

not yet been officially defined, early demonstrations and

prototypes use a 5Gbps downlink, meaning per-sector

bandwidth requirement would be 10Gbps, 350 times

more than 3G. It is critical that backhaul solutions being

deployed now have a path to support higher bandwidth in

the future.

Availability

Backhaul equipment must be carrier grade, supportinga BER of less than 10-6 and maintain 99.999%

availability regardless of weather conditions. This is a

strict requirement for mobile network operators which

have very low tolerance for downtime. Carrier grade

(sometimes called carrier class) refers to the equipments

availability to provide service. Carrier-grade systems are

typically engineered to stay in operation 99.999% of the

time meaning that, over one year, the system downtime

would not exceed 5.26 minutes.

Availability is critical to mobile network operators. Ifbackhaul systems are not in operation, mobile services

are negatively affected. Fiber systems are typically

engineered with a backup path, and systems automatically

switch to the protection path in < 50 milliseconds on

loss of signal. Weather conditions can have an impact on

microwave and millimeter-wave radio systems that will in

turn affect the transmission performance. To overcome

this, radio vendors use adaptive modulation techniques

that lower line rates to maintain availability; however, this

creates a potential bottleneck in the backhaul network as

line rates slow.

Reach

Mobile cell networks are configured in a hierarchical

mesh. Traffic generated at cell site locations is

transported back to an aggregation point (sometimes

called a super cell) where it is combined (aggregated) with

other traffic for transport to the mobile switch. Average

distances from cell tower locations to aggregation points

Table 1: Wireless solutions for urban/suburban backhaul

Technology options Deployment

cost

Recurring

charges

Scalabil ity Deployment

time

Capacity Typical CIR Typical

distance

Typical

distance (CIR)

Fiber (own) High Low Excellent Months Tbps Tbps ~600km ~600km

Fiber (lease*) Low High Excellent Weeks Tbps Tbps ~600km ~600km

Unlicensed microwave Medium/ low Low Poor Weeks 10Mbps- 3Gbps(using XPIC,MIMO, andcompression)

N/A - cannotguarantee ratebecause ofinterference

~924km N/A - cannotguarantee ratebecause ofinterference

Licensed microwave Medium Low Good Weeks 500Mbps- 2Gbps(using XPIC,MIMO, and

compression)

1Gbps ~50km ~20km

Millimeter-wave radio Medium Low Good Weeks 1 -3Gbps 1Gbps ~4km ~2km

Hybrid laser-radio Medium Low Good Weeks 2Gbps 2Gbps 110km 110km

*Leasing assumes facilities are in place.Source: Ovum


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typically range from 1km to 8km. Reach is a big issue

for backhaul technologies because, if a signal needs to

be repeated (regenerated) because it is too weak to be

recognized, additional equipment must be installed. For

fiber-based solutions, reach severely affects cost as thelonger a span is, the more it will cost to install. Previous

research by Ovum indicates that the installation of fiber

for distances greater than 1.75 miles is difficult to justify

given the high deployment cost, particularly in urban

environments where trenching may be required.

Deployment time

Mobile operators globally spend billions of dollars each

year acquiring wireless spectrum to build out network

coverage. Much of the time cell tower locations are in

remote areas, and backhaul choices are limited. Runningnew fiber is not only expensive, it often takes months to

plan and construct. Backhaul transmission equipment

must be rapidly deployed and turned up. Ovums Mobile

Subscriptions and Revenue Forecast: 201419 indicate that

global mobile data revenue is expected to be $442bn in

2015, 10% more than 2014. As most data revenues are

driven by 4G LTE; failing to get LTE cell sites up and

running quickly could put billions of dollars of potential

revenue at risk.

Low costMobile operators around the world are upgrading their

mobile RANs to support LTE and LTE-A technologies.

At the same time, they must also upgrade their mobile

backhaul networks to provide more bandwidth. Ovums

analysis of mobile backhaul indicates that mobile network

operators globally spent $8.8bn on mobile backhaul in

2014. Since operators devote so much investment in this

area, cost-efficient backhaul solutions are critical to

business plans.

Solutions for mobile backhaulFixed solutions for mobile backhaul: FiberFiber provides the highest capacity for mobile backhaul,

with a low bit-error rate, and can transmit hundreds of

kilometers before the signal needs to be regenerated.

If fiber is available, it is often the preferred choice

for backhaul. Unfortunately, fiber is not available

everywhere, and there are instances where the cost

will be too great because nearby backbone fiber does

not exist, right of way is not available, or there are

physical obstructions such as highways or rivers that

make construction impossible. Buried fiber is two tothree times more expensive than aerial fiber. In addition,

deployments of new fiber take months compared with

wireless deployments that can be completed in weeks.

Fiber has high initial deployment costs for cable,

splicing, trenching, right of ways, etc., plus the cost of

the optical transport and aggregation equipment thatprovides the transport service. There is also a small

recurring cost for space/power rental at cell sites and

for equipment maintenance.

Since fiber deployments are costly and take a long time

to plan and construct, deployments are generally focused

on urban areas where fiber owners can get a better ROI

by supporting multiple applications, such as residential

GPON or Ethernet, in addition to mobile backhaul. In

many cases, owners of fiber also provide lit services in a

wholesale model. Previous research by Ovum indicatesthat mobile operators across the industry pay 1015% of

annual opex to third parties for access. When leasing a

fiber-based service, the cost to the operator results in

an operation expense that recurs each month. As noted

in Ovums Mobile Backhaul Forecast Report: 201419,

published in August 2014, approximately 50% of all cell

sites globally do not have fiber today.

Wireless solutions for mobile backhaulMicrowave RF

Approximately 50% of all mobile backhaul globallyis provided using wireless technology with the vast

majority being microwave RF that typically operates

in the 6, 11, 18, 23, and 28GHz frequency bands.

Deployment of microwave radio requires a one-time

capital cost and a small recurring cost (for space/

power rental and maintenance). Microwave radios can

be installed at a much lower cost and much faster

than fiber but transmission is affected by atmospheric

conditions such as rain which reduces performance.

Often the system transmission rate is lowered (rate-

adaptation) to mitigate interference from weather.Typical microwave systems support up to 500Mbps

capacity and have a reach of 30 miles which may vary

depending on the applications. For example, longer

distances are typically achieved by using the lower

frequency bands; however, the lower frequencies are

generally congested and may be difficult to obtain

and use. Higher frequencies support a higher data

rate but often sacrifice distance. System capacity can

be increased into the gigabit range by using multiple

RF channels, but this increases cost as each channel

requires additional electronics as well as spectrumlicenses. Supporting mobile backhaul requirements


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for LTE and LTE-A over a single channel will be

technologically difficult for microwave RF.

Millimeter-wave RF

Millimeter-wave RF, defined by the ITU as ExtremelyHigh Frequency (EHF), operates in the 30300GHz range.

The subset of the EHF range used for telco applications

typically operates in the 70/80 GHz frequency spectrum

known as the E-band radios. Millimeter-wave RF can

support higher transmission rates in the 12Gbps range

but its system reach is much shorter than microwave RF,

and the technology is highly susceptible to rain fade and

absorption, requiring a reduction in data rate to mitigate

interference from weather. Millimeter-wave beams are

much narrower than microwave beams and, as a result,

the millimeter-wave RF equipment must be installed onsolid structures to avoid alignment problems. Given the

technologys shortcomings, its most often deployed for

small-cell backhaul applications.

Hybrid solutions

Given the choice, most operators will choose fiber

as their preferred backhaul solution due to its high

availability and near unlimited capacity. However,

in many cases, fiber is not an option, meaning that

operators have to deploy a wireless-based solution.

Signal attenuation caused by atmospheric conditionsleads to higher bit error ratios (BER) and inhibits

the capacity of microwave systems and the reach

of millimeter-wave technologies for macrocell site

backhaul. To overcome these issues, vendors are

developing hybrid solutions that use multi-beam or

multi-path architectures that can mitigate performance

issues caused by weather. One example of these new

hybrid solutions is a technology termed laser-radio

by MIT Technology Review: AOptix is a vendor that has

developed a version of laser-radio technology, used in its

AOptix Intellimax product.

Hybrid laser-radio combines an advanced version of free-

space optics (FSO) with millimeter-wave radio frequency

(RF) technologies to create a hybrid transmission system

that operates in all weather conditions with carrier-grade

availability.

FSO is an optical technology that transmits infrared laser

light through free space (in most cases air) rather than

a physical media such as fiber. The technology supports

very high transmission rates with a low BER. Deploymentcosts are low, the equipment is easy to install, it requires

no licensing, and the transmission media (air) is free.

While these are highly desirable capabilities for backhaul,

the stability and quality of an FSO-only link is highly

dependent on atmospheric factors such as rain, fog, dust,

heat, and wind, limiting the technologys usefulness forsupporting terrestrial applications. By combining FSO

with millimeter-wave radio, much of the attenuation from

atmospheric conditions can be mitigated, resulting in a

high-capacity, highly available signal suitable for mobile

backhaul applications.

How does hybrid laser-radio technology work?

Hybrid laser-radio technology transmits redundant

information over two diverse frequencies and then uses

advanced algorithms at the receiving end to composite the

data from the two frequencies in real time, providing anerror-free signal with bit error rates that are comparable

to fiber-based systems.

The hybrid laser-radio technology that is currently

available supports point-to-point transmission at a rate

of 2Gbps for distances up to 10km and can be installed

in a matter of hours compared with fiber that could take

months. The technology has been proven to support much

higher data rates in the range of 80Gbps for military

applications. System costs are comparable with long-haul

microwave systems.

Financial analysisIn order to illustrate the challenges of deploying urban

cellular connectivity in developed markets, Ovum has

used its Network Economics Tool (NET) to model a

cellular network. NET is a cellular network planning and

dimensioning tool which combines Ovums knowledge of

the network with financial analysis to help service providers

decide on network upgrades, new technology rollouts,

how to react to competition, and many other areas. NET

can model any device, over any geography, using almostevery cellular technology available in the market, including

support systems (e.g. backhaul, core network, BSS/OSS,

etc.). A variety of metrics are then produced, including TCO,

NPV, and cost of transporting a GB.

In this particular case, Ovum has used an urban

environment with the assumptions listed below. Although

this is a hypothetical scenario, it illustrates a possible

deployment use case in urban environments, especially as

data demand from smartphones increases:

Area of deployment is a very dense urban area with apopulation of 5 million in an area of 350 square km.


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Existing carrier operating in market but deploying new

cell sites due to increased demand

Smartphone penetration nearly 100% in the postpaid

subscriber base

Average smartphone traffic use is 1GB per month,tablet is 2GB per month, and tethering is 5GB per month

LTE network with wide bandwidth (60MHz) using carrier

aggregation to reach approximately 450Mbps per cell

sector

Cell radius ranges from 600m to 1000m, depending on

geography. In many cases where a larger cell is used,

the system becomes capacity constrained and requires

cell splitting.

There are also several other assumptions a carrier has to

define in order for a data-oriented network to be deployedin a competitive, developed market. This analysis focuses

on backhaul technologies available in urban areas, which

are somewhat limited considering the demanding nature

of each cell site, and which may require a backhaul

connection in excess of 1Gbps. Only a few technologies

are both available to satisfy this requirement and being

deployed today. It is also assumed that dark fiber is

not available at the cell site, which, in the case of LTE

and LTE-A, may well be due to the denser deployment

and multitude of cell site necessary to satisfy capacity

requirements. It is also noted that a >1Gbps backhaulconnection and an average throughput of 450Mbps

per sector exceeds current traffic demands from end

users (as outlined in the second bullet in the list above).

However, although carriers may be deploying lower-

throughput cellular networks today, these higher speeds

are likely to be reached when LTE becomes mainstream

and data services are more popular. Moreover, 3GPP

Release 12 and 13, followed by 5G, are likely to provide

much faster speeds, so carriers need to deploy the fastest

and most cost-effective backhaul and transport solutions

that are available today.

The backhaul technologies that were benchmarked were: Fiber rollout: Since dark fiber is not available to the cell

site and in some cases may be more expensive to lease

(due to very high speeds required), it is assumed that

the carrier deploys fiber directly. In urban areas, the

cost to trench may be considerable, making this solution

not cost-effective. In this scenario, it is assumed that

50% of cell sites will be connected through leased fiber

and the other 50% will be connected through new fiber

connections.

Microwave: Typical microwave links are used which

may provide 400500Mbps throughput per link. In manycases, several links have to be used to cater for higher

throughput or hardened configurations (e.g. larger

antennas, higher power), which significantly increases

the cost. It is assumed that 100% of the backhaul links

are deployed by the carrier.

Hybrid laser-radio: The newest market entry combines

FSO and mm-wave to provide multi-gigabit wireless

connections at a reasonable cost. It is also assumed

that 100% of backhaul links are deployed by the carrier.

These three alternatives may provide >1Gbps connectionsto a cell site and provide the robustness a carrier will

require. Figure 2 shows the cost per gigabyte over a four-

year period for each of the alternatives analyzed.

The network deployed in this case consists of 248

base stations during the first year of deployment,

which increase to 332 in the fifth year, due to capacity

constraints. Despite this area being very dense, it is

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

Year 4Year 3Year 2Year 1

Hybrid laser-radio

CostperGB

Fiber deployment Microwave

Figure 2: Cost per gigabyte for different backhaul technologies

Source: Ovum


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assumed that new sites are the only way to increase

capacity when a high-bandwidth LTE network is deployed.

The extremely concentrated subscriber base and data

consumption provide a positive business case with ROI

cycles down to a few years.

The net present value (NPV) of these different scenarios

may be calculated by placing further assumptions

regarding revenue targets, including average revenue

per device, subscriber acquisition costs (SAC), subscriber

retention costs (SRC), and a variety of other parameters.

The NPV of the modeled network is for a five-year period

and, due to the demand for data services, a data-driven

network is expected to be a very positive investment.

Also, the US market modeled in this case is likely

to be a saturated market by the end of the modeling

period, pushing subscriber-related costs (SAC and SRC)

considerably higher, thus reducing the NPV valuesoutlined above. In any case, due to the distributed nature

of the radio access network, backhaul is a major cost

driver which affects the investment in the network. In the

case when dark fiber is not available, Ovums modeling

illustrates that the hybrid laser-radio approach is

expected to be the most positive investment.

Due to the lucrative nature of the urban area, all

scenarios outlined above represent a very positive

business case. It needs to be taken into account that the

average subscriber costs were assumed; they may beconsiderably higher, which would constrict the business

case. However, the hybrid laser-radio approach presents

the ideal business case with highest NPV due to the cost

and still meets mobile operator critical requirements for

capacity, reach, and availability.

Table 2: Five-year NPV for networks outlined above

Microwave $795.94m

Fiber deployment $780.87m

Hybrid laser-radio $829.49m

Source: Ovum


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AOptix Intellimax: A New Alternative for Transport

IntroductionAOptix has commercialized an innovative hybrid solution that provides many of the same benefits of fiber-based

technologies but maintains the flexibility and cost advantage of traditional wireless-based microwave technology.

Intellimax, AOptixs solution, is built on a new and disruptive hybrid technology called laser-radio technology. Laser-radiocombines enhanced versions of free space optics (FSO) and millimeter-wave technologies to create a hybrid transmission

system that supports transmission of a constant data rate of 2Gbps up to a distance of 10km with 99.999% availability

under severe weather conditions. Laser-radio is based on technology first created for military applications, and has been

field-proven in heavy rain, fog, wind, snow, and other extreme weather conditions.

Diverse frequencies create robust platformTraditional wireless technologies have an inherent weakness in inclement weather due to specific frequency

susceptibilities. Hybrid laser-radio technology addresses these challenges by transmitting redundant information over the

two diverse frequencies (optical and millimeter-wave).

AOptixs innovation was to use advanced algorithms at the receiving end of the hybrid laser-radio combination to mergetogether these diverse yet complementary frequencies in real time. The two outputs are fused at the byte level to yield an

error-free signal with bit error rates that are comparable to fiber-based systems. AOptix calls this Advanced Wavelength

Diversity (AWD), and it is the basis for its disruptive technology. Figure 3 shows a conceptual description of how AOptixs

implementation of laser-radio technology and Advanced Wavelength Diversity works.

AWD enables carrier-grade availability and constant (non-adaptive) multi-gigabit throughput. At the heart of AWD is the

Dynamic Packet Resourcing (DPR) algorithm, which relies on dual-frequency transmission and real-time packet selectionacross the two frequencies to produce an optimal output data stream. The technology enables error-free data transmission

of multi-gigabit capacity over long distances regardless of atmospheric challenges including fog, rain, and snow.

Figure 3: AOptix Laser-Radio Technology

Source: AOptix


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Compensating for twist and swayAOptix uses tracking software it calls Active Beam Steering (ABS) that was originally developed to maintain wireless

high-capacity data links between military aircraft moving at high speeds. ABS allows for real-time automated steering of

Intellimax optical and RF beams. This technology enables maintenance of the link alignment with accuracy of 1/4000th of

a degree and compensates for plus or minus three degrees of tower twist and sway caused by conditions such as heavywind, ice, and snow build-up that pose big problems for wireless systems. This enables AOptix Intellimax to be mounted

onto almost any tower or structure, significantly increasing deployment flexibility while reducing costs.

Simplified installation and link alignmentInstallation and link alignment for Intellimax is accomplished using fully automated software-driven technology called Point-

Acquire-Track (PAT) that uses sophisticated beam profiling and lobe tracking techniques to ensure precision tracking of the

main lobe with repeatable results every time for maximum performance. PAT automates a complete link installation in less

than 20 minutes, which significantly reduces the cost of deployment.

AOptix and critical macrocell backhaul requirements

Six key requirements are consistently identified for selecting macrocell backhaul technology: capacity, distance,performance and availability, speed of deployment, flexibility, and total cost of ownership (TCO). AOptixs Intellimax,

built with laser-radio technology, delivers on each of these critical needs. In Figure 4, the middle column identifies the

service providers specific need for 4G/LTE macrocell backhaul deployment, and the right-hand column identifies what the

AOptix Intellimax solution delivers.

Figure 4: AOptix Intellimax for 4G/LTE macrocell backhaul requirements

Source: AOptix


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Ultimately, the choice of a mobile backhaul solution is always based on the needs at the critical aggregation points in a

service providers network. For the vast majority of macrocell wireless backhaul, this comes down to a decision between

trenching for new fiber, leasing existing fiber, or deploying a wireless solution, whether that is microwave, millimeter-

wave, or laser-radio technology.

In a situation where carrier-grade availability is non-negotiable, high capacity is demanded, and fiber is too expensive

or unavailable, laser-radio technology provided by the AOptix Intellimax is the optimal solution for the needs of 4G/LTE

backhaul.

The AOptix high-capacity wireless solution is a true fiber alternative that provides advantages both in cost and speed of

deployment. AOptixs Intellimax can be deployed far more rapidly than fiber, and provides a return on investment (ROI)

in six to 12 months compared with trenching or leasing urban fiber connections. Additionally, AOptix Intellimax offers the

flexibility of deploying on any tower or structure, greatly simplifying site identification and network planning.

Fiber performance at wireless economics

Cost is a critical component for service providers trying to stay ahead of the capacity demand curve by upgrading theirtransport infrastructure. When determining TCO, organizations need to account for capital expenditure (capex) and

operational expenditure (opex). The biggest challenge to using fiber is the TCO, whether it is a high recurring opex for

leased fiber or a high up-front capex for new fiber deployment.

By using laser-radio technology, the AOptix Intellimax offers bandwidth, distance, and availability at a fraction of the cost

of an equivalent fiber solution. It typically delivers a return on investment (ROI) of less than a year.

With AOptix Intellimax, service providers do not have to choose between high capacity, distance, carrier-grade

availability, or deployment flexibility. It is a viable alternative to fiber that delivers fiber-like performance with the flexibility

of a wireless solution. Designed for telecommunication service providers, enterprises, and government entities, the AOptix

Intellimax family of products delivers multi-gigabit capacity with carrier-grade availability in a fraction of the time and costof fiber.


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Ovum White Paper - AOptix Intellimax

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Transcript of Ovum White Paper - AOptix Intellimax