New system improves network density and capacity, extends range with relay features, yet maintains low TCO credentials

Barcelona, Spain, 25th February 2013 - Bluwan S.A., a provider of carrier-grade multi-gigabit wireless solutions, announced today that it has launched LinkFusion™, the second generation of its point-to-multipoint millimetre wave backhaul system. LinkFusion builds on Bluwan’s promise to deliver high capacity, high bandwidth connectivity over a wide area to multiple end points at very economic price points.

The LinkFusion system is comprised of a new Transmission Hub Indoor Unit (IDU), a new Outdoor Unit (ODU), and new Network Termination Equipment (NTE), all supported by local and remote configuration and management tools. Like Bluwan’s earlier solutions that operate in the 42 GHz band, LinkFusion represents an ideal solution to provide greater backhaul capacity in dense urban environments, for example as backhaul solutions for small cell architectures or heterogeneous (“HetNet”) environments.

Providing increased network density that previous point-to-multipoint systems could not accommodate, LinkFusion negates the expensive trenching of laying cable and results in a much lower total cost of ownership (“TCO”) than traditional Point to Point (“PTP”) wireless backhaul solutions (see “Bluwan reveals total cost of ownership for small cell backhaul solutions”).

The new IDU will give customers a compact, efficient solution that reduces power consumption and rack space, yet maintains high capacity and high bandwidth performance. The new, streamlined stackable 19 inch single unit (1U) module features eight modems, an Ethernet switch, multiplexer and four GigE SFP interfaces. Each modem offers 40 MHz of transmission bandwidth at up to 120 Mbps each, therefore offering nearly 1 Gbps of throughput per unit.

Bluwan’s new ODU  and NTE are available with 6°, 22°, 45° and 90° antennas, allowing greater flexibility and choice of coverage beamwidths to target the addressable market and thus deliver the required bandwidth density and throughput per sector where needed. These new integrated antenna configurations enable operators to focus and shape their sectors in order to provide street level coverage combined with the high capacity required in HetNet architectures. The latest NTE series includes two GigE ports and an internal switch that offers traffic aggregation, system management and scalable capacity up to 240 Mbps.

The LinkFusion system also offers a relay product, enabling operators to extend the range of the system, and overcome traditional point to multipoint line of sight challenges. Operators can also benefit from the wide array of antennas to light up street canyons in small cell deployments.

“Consumer appetite for bandwidth continues to rise and network topologies are evolving rapidly to sate demand. Backhaul solutions must evolve and stretch to meet these requirements, but must also be affordable and practical,” said Shayan Sanyal, Chief Commercial Officer, Bluwan.

“Building on our existing technology and in response to strong customer demand, our second generation system, LinkFusion, directly slashes site acquisition, planning, operations and maintenance overheads without compromising capacity, range and endpoint performance.”

The LinkFusion NTEs are DC or AC PoE powered and boast new networking, QoS and management features. Recognising that speed of installation is a major factor in small cell TCO, Bluwan’s new IDU includes an intuitive web based application to enable faster deployment and quicker time to operation than traditional PTP solutions.

LinkFusion is currently being trialled by multiple operators around the world for full deployments throughout the course of 2013, and will be available directly from Bluwan and its distribution partners, GDS Technologies and Giza Systems.

Bluwan at Mobile World Congress
Bluwan is speaking at Mobile World Congress 2013 on the panel discussion titled ‘Smaller But Smarter: Making a Success of Small Cell Networks’ on 26th February between 14.00 – 15:30 in Auditorium 3.

The panel will explore why existing backhaul technologies are being stretched to breaking point.  Despite progress in many areas to solve these issues, from WiFi integration and interference management to backhaul and inter-RAT handoff, there is still a long way to go.