New Nera IP Microwave System Brings Performance, Network Flexibility to 4G Wireless Backhaul Networks

The company will demonstrate the breakthrough system for the first time at booth 1864 at the International CTIA Wireless 2010 (Mar. 22 – 25) conference in Las Vegas. 

Wireless carriers have a tremendous installed base of PDH and SONET circuit switched networks, but to gear up for increased data load from smartphones and mobile data applications, these carriers are migrating their backhaul networks to IP to increase bandwidth and flexibility at this potential chokepoint. 

The XPAND IP family is ideally suited for these applications.  The system has native Ethernet packet support and a full set of Ethernet features including quality of service (QoS) support up to layer 3, and packet synchronization support via Sync Ethernet and IEEE 1588v2.  With its unique Ethernet aggregation node capability, up to eight 400 Mbps Ethernet links can be integrated for a total throughput of 1.6Gbps.

The aggregation node feature also supports both OC-3 (155Mbps) SONET links and T1 connections, allowing the carrier to flexibly hand off transmission to an existing optical network from a base station aggregation network.

“In an industry environment where mobile data traffic is skyrocketing and capital spending is flat, the Evolution Series XPAND IP is the right solution at the right time because it can help a carrier move to an IP backhaul solution no matter what infrastructure they currently have,” said Billy Cain, President of the Americas for Nera Networks.  “The native support for IP and the flexible features are matched by Nera’s commitment to outstanding customer and technical support.”
The system can transmit up to 70 miles and features adaptive coded modulation (ACM) technology to automatically overcome potential signal fading or disruptions from weather conditions.

System Configuration
The complete Evolution Series XPAND IP system includes up to eight microwave outdoor unit (ODU) transceivers that can be aggregated to support link throughput of up to 1.6Gbps.  Each ODU covers a complete frequency band and is capacity and modulation independent. 

The system is also uniquely available in a long haul configuration with an ultra-low loss RF branching arrangement combined with high-power transceiver units for outdoor installation. This results in a system gain that enables reduced antenna sizes that both lowers overall system cost and reduces tower load.

These radio transceivers are combined with one of two Nera indoor interface units (IFUs).  The Ultra Compact IFU is a low power, 1U-high, half-size system for cabinet installations in smaller base stations.  The Universal Node IFU is a 1U-high, full rack (19-inch wide) system that can be stacked to easily scale in capacity as traffic increases.    The Universal IFU features a wide selection of user interfaces.

Availability
The Evolution Series XPAND IP system will be available in June 2010 from Nera’s direct sales force and resellers worldwide.

About Nera Networks
Nera Networks is a leading manufacturer of microwave radio systems designed to bridge customer networks to the future. The company’s Evolution Series microwave radio platform is designed for carrier, enterprise and emergency communications applications and offers performance and support for both TDM to IP communications. The company has 700 employees and sales operations in 100 countries, with Americas headquarters in Richardson, TX.