Frequency & Microwave Coping with congestion
According to the World Health Organization, over 55 per cent of the world’s population live in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68 per cent by 2050. Cities are being stressed like never before and the supporting infrastructure is becoming more congested, yet connectivity remains limited. Here, Walter Magiera, chief commercial offi cer at Filtronic, an expert in RF technology, explains how mmWave enables high-performance and reliable connections in densely populated areas.
T
he traditional approach to cell tower deployment involved the installation of tall towers that could cover large geographic areas. However, with the increasing
demand for wireless data in densely populated areas, this approach has become less effective. The new approach involves the use of towers that are smaller in size and use remote radio heads (RRH), which are radio frequency (RF) components in cellular networks separated from baseband units that can handle the complexities of urban life and provide better coverage in densely populated areas. These towers are often discreetly incorporated into existing structures, such as rooftops or even church steeples, making them less obtrusive than traditional cell towers. Today, we use wireless technology every single day in a multitude of formats. This means that millions, if not billions, of RF signals are travelling at different frequencies, with each assigned to a specifi c communication channel or service.
42 June 2024
However, as the number of RF signal generating apparatus increase and user base grows, the spectrum becomes more congested. This means that signals can overlap in densely populated areas or locations with high device usage, leading to capacity and interference issues.
Adaptive fi ltering
As governments around the world approve and adopt new frequency bands, the airwaves will have an intricate and complex matrix of interference to contend with. In an effort to mitigate that interference, governments and mobile network operators will need to proactively address this by deploying combining and fi ltering technologies. This is where the expertise of RF-to- mmWave component manufacturers come in, as Filtronic provides adaptive fi ltering technologies, a signal processing technique that adjusts the characteristics of a fi lter in real-time based on the input signal. Filtronic are also experts in switched fi lter banks, which
Components in Electronics
are a set of fi lters used to divide an input signal into different frequency components, where the selection of fi lters can be changed based on specifi c criteria.
With over 45 years of experience, Filtronic has specialised in the design and manufacturing of complex filters, helping to mitigate the risk of interference caused by congestion.
Non-terrestrial
According to IoT Analytics, there will likely be more than 29 billion IoT connections by 2027. Yet IoT requires a lower transmission rate, a higher number of device connections and low-power transmission due to limited power of the terminal device.
Where diverse communication requirements arise, RF and microwave technologies can contribute to the development of options that meet the specifi c demands of the increasing IoT connectivity.
For instance, in scenarios such as hydrological monitoring and environmental
protection, where terrestrial wireless communication falls short, non-terrestrial communications become more critical. Transmitting and receiving large packages of data becomes a limitation at lower frequencies. mmWave also has its challenges, specifi cally propagation and power, but this is where Filtronic’s E-band Solid State Power Amplifi ers (SSPA) become necessary. For example, the E-band SSPA Taurus is specially designed to address the complex challenges faced by today’s terrestrial and non-terrestrial wireless networks, providing reliable and high-performance communication components that ensure connectivity even in challenging environments.
Here, the Taurus amplifier features double the available output power than its predecessors, combining the power of two Cerus 8 E-Band amplifier modules. These amplifiers each contain eight GaAs pHEMT PA MMICs, with their power efficiently combined in waveguide to deliver maximum output.
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