Ceragon IP-50C all-outdoor high-capacity radio system

To a large extent, fibre-based connectivity has allowed suburban dwellers to enjoy virtually unlimited bandwidth — but for hard-to-reach communities and individuals, the only practical solution is wireless-based access, and increased data in the last mile has put pressure on the backhaul to keep up. With WISPs demanding more from their radio backhaul vendors, Ceragon has introduced the IP-50C all-outdoor high-capacity radio system, which has the ability to transport data at fibre-like speeds over traditional microwave radio frequencies.

A key benefit of the system is support for 224 MHz channelling and up to 4 kQAM modulation. With two separate transceivers in each outdoor unit, it can deliver 4 Gbps of capacity on a radio channel and deliver it over a single 10GE interface to the backbone network.

The product is available in all frequencies from 6–38 GHz, meaning that WISPs are not constrained to short (E-band) sub-2 km links, but can deliver good capacity over distances in excess of 40 km. The all-outdoor product eliminates the need for rack space inside an equipment hut and also consumes little power, making it suitable for remote locations relying on solar- or wind-powered generation.

The system has already been adopted by many of NZ’s leading WISPs, with one North Island-based WISP deploying it over a 5.8 km link. The WISP licensed 2 x 110 MHz adjacent channels on cross pole (2+0); merging the two channels from each polarisation together, they created a V/H 220 MHz channel pair. Using XPIC, they were able to build a 4 Gbps >99.95% availability link, using 600 mm antennas. The WISP used adaptive modulation to further enhance the link availability during difficult propagation conditions.

Due to its high capacity, the radio offers 10GE interfaces and combines the traffic from the two polarisations into a single Ethernet feed for connection into the WISP router. In the event that additional capacity is required, the product can be further expanded to 4+0, doubling the capacity. For higher availability on longer links, Ceragon also offers a high-power version which is capable of +37 dBm transmit power.