6
MICROWAVE BACKHAUL NETWORKS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Microwave radios play a key role in today’s telecommunication networks and are much more common than many may suspect. Though sometimes hidden from the eye, point-to-point (PtP) microwave radios make up almost half of the cellular backhaul connections worldwide and comprise more than two-thirds of worldwide connections outside of the United States.
Radios are also common in carriers’ long-haul connections and metropolitan networks serving as fiber replacements. Private enterprise networks, public safety and military networks, and utility companies are also utilizing microwave systems. Still, the most common deployment scenario of PtP radios remains the backhauling of cellular networks.
When talking about mobile backhaul, let us have a look on the market size and its growth: The number of worldwide mobile subscribers was 3.3 billion in 2007 and will grow to 5.2 billion by 2011. According to a report by Infonetics Research, the number of backhaul connections is expected to grow from 2.6 million in 2007 to 4.3 million by 2011.
The microwave radio is so widely deployed mainly because fiber cannot be made available everywhere. In addition, microwave makes for fast and cost-effective deployment compared to fiber. In many cases, self-build and ownership of microwave is cheaper than leasing fiber or copper T/E lines from the incumbent carrier. The new offering of microwave radios supporting carrier Ethernet specifically suits ...
