Huawei released its latest 5G microwave solution that offers a single-link with 50 Gbps bandwidth. The company also unveiled the first smart antenna that increases the E-band transmission distance by 50%.

The latter solution simplifies installation and enables E-band application to pole sites, accelerating 5G deployment.

Huawei's 2T2R simplified E-band solution integrates two channels into one piece of hardware and optimizes algorithms to increase the coding efficiency. Overall, this results in a bandwidth delivery of up to 25 Gbps, a 2.5-fold improvement over existing E-band. With 2T2R E-band, required devices as well as the tower bearing capacity and installation space are further reduced by 50%. With MIMO technology, the single-link bandwidth can reach up to 50 Gbps, which is sufficient to accommodate long-term evolution of 5G transport networks.

The E-band, which works on mmWave 80 GHz, is sensitive to physical stability due to the small antenna beam angle and therefore has high engineering installation requirements. Transmission over longer distances generally requires 0.6 meter antenna, which feature a smaller beam angle than 0.3 meter antenna and are installed in demanding environments, including on walls or steady towers. To facilitate the deployment of long-distance E-band applications, Huawei developed the first smart microwave antenna solution. The solution delivers intelligent tracking of the antenna beam angle and provides a six times higher anti-shaking capability, reducing the stability requirements. The E-band can now be deployed on pole sites, making it possible to mass-deploy E-band 0.6 meter antennas which can get 50% longer distance than before.

For traditional frequency bands ranging from 6 GHz to 42 GHz, Huawei further improved the "enhanced MIMO" solution capabilities. The solution now leverages optimized algorithms to increase the MIMO distance by 50%, realizing commercial deployment of 12 km MIMO links. Furthermore, for telecom operators with limited spectrum resources, the solution allows for four-fold capacity increase to enable large-capacity expansion on more longer links, facilitating network evolution to 5G.

Huawei says that its 5G microwave has been deployed on 5G base stations in over 20 countries. In the Middle East, where the first wave of 5G construction was initiated, 61% of 5G base stations still use Huawei's 5G microwave as a means of transport.