NEC Corporation Deploys 5000iP Series High-capacity Microwave Communications Systems

Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks provide the most speedy mobile connection out there, but the drawbacks of these networks are no secret: providers just don't have the bandwidth to meet the demand of consumers. 4G infrastructures have lately been seeing a great deal of improvement to better meet those demands; no one likes getting their data limits capped halfway through the month.

Earlier this week, the Tokyo division of NEC Corporation announced the release of its next-generation of 5000 series trunk microwave communications systems. The 5000iP platform provides just under twice as much the transmission capacity of previous 5000S systems – which will give a much needed boost in speed and capacity to participating service providers.

The goal of this new system is essentially to strengthen the capacity of existing 4G/LTE networks running on 5000S systems – the average increase in speed is around 4Gbps faster. Zambia- and Tanzania-based carriers are among the first to place orders on the 5000iP, but NEC expects to sell around 10,000 units around the world within the next three years.

Features of the 5000iP include high capacity trunk communications support, reliable network construction and a particularly compact design.

Trunk communications support means compatibility with full packet networking and time-division multiplexing, allowing for speeds of 400Mbps to 4Gbps through multi-line bundling. Through its Cross Polarization Interference Canceller, the modulation method, as well as transmission rate, are constantly changing to provide high quality service, regardless of weather conditions.

Reliable network construction is a pretty broad term, and could mean a few different things. In this case, however, it refers to support for Gigabit Ethernet solutions. When combined with trunk communications support, Gigabit Ethernet services allow for maximum stability over the air through end-to-end network observation.

5000iP systems are 20 percent more compact than similar products on the market, at 40cm lower than the European Telecommunications Standards Institute's half-rack standard. Being considerably smaller than the average LTE transmitter, these systems are ideal for offices and other limited-space areas.

Support for 4G/LTE networks seems to be headed in the right direction. This year should show some major improvements in the overall capacity and quality of the world's LTE infrastructure as a whole, with all of the headlines being made about drastic hardware and under-the-hood improvements - much like the upgrade to 5000iP systems for 5000S users.