Broadcom director Ravi Manik on backhaul and fronthaul networks demands

Targeting the microwave system vendors, Broadcom recently introduced BCM85100 which is Industry’s first 10Gbps wireless Millimeter Wave SoC – addressing on backhaul and fronthaul networks demands.

For carriers looking for cost-effective and flexible products to meet the growing bandwidth demands of mobile broadband services, the BCM85100 offers a scalable option and up to 10Gbps of capacity. The SoC is cable of delivering up to 10Gbps capacity over single antenna, single channel and single polarization, thus reducing link cost.

Ravi Manik, director, Corporate Business Development, India & South-East Asia at Broadcom, in an interview with TelecomLead.com, talks about the latest technology trends.

He said the growing demand of data services and connected devices are all driving mobile backhaul networks to new heights of capacity, resulting in the need for more cell site connections. The millimeter wave solution represents the next step in addressing these capacity needs and is proving to be a viable solution for backhaul and fronthaul networks. Reaching 10 Gbps is a major milestone for the industry and raises the bar as an integrated SoC that will further drive the millimeter wave market.

Broadcom director Ravi Manik

Broadcom BCM85100

Broadcom said BCM85100 offers the entire range from Mbps to 10 Gbps over single antenna, single channel and single polarization, providing carriers and telecomm equipment manufacturers with a unified millimeter wave solution. The 10Gbps delivery is enabled by high modulation of up to 256QAM and by wide channels up to 2GHz. Capacity availability is further reinforced by the use of advanced Adaptive Code Modulation & Baud (ACMB) mechanism.

The acceleration of next generation cellular networks is creating new backhaul connectivity challenges and millimeter wave technology has started to play an increasingly important role in helping mitigate these challenges.

The need for unified products that address various applications including macro cell backhaul, small cell backhaul and fronthaul are becoming paramount. Broadcom’s BCM85100 SoC enables to deliver up to 10Gbps capacity over single antenna, single channel and single polarization, thus reducing link cost and addressing current and future needs of all market applications, said Broadcom’s Ravi Manik.

On customer demands

The BCM85100 address the needs of multiple market applications – from small cell backhaul that requires hundreds of Mbps, through macro cell backhaul that requires multi-Gbps, up to Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) fronthaul that requires up to 10Gbps – and provides a unified solution.

Tips to telecom CTOs

When selecting a millimeter wave solution, CTOs should consider the following

a.       Future proof capacity – for addressing current and future needs of all market applications

b.      System versatility and flexibility – easy capacity and functionality upgrades by software – covering  entire range from Mbps to 10Gbps with a unified solution

c.       Cost efficiency – reduce hardware Capex and Opex through the use of single antenna, single channel and single polarization

On latest challenges and opportunities

One of the main challenges we face is enabling massive growth in the mobile data traffic as well as enabling the LTE ramp up under the new HetNET architecture, operators are looking for cost effective solutions and spectrum. The millimeter wave spectrum provides additional frequencies for at a lower cost than the traditional microwave bands.  The ever growing demand for higher capacity and additional connections, in multiple applications, requires addressing the needs of multiple market applications with a cost-effective unified solution.

Baburajan K