BridgeWave Introduces 4G Backhaul Solution

A company called BridgeWave, which got its start with LMDS and today sells 60gHz and 80gHz solutions to enterprise and municipal network customers, this week introduced a 4G wireless backhaul solution that delivers full-speed gigabit without compression in one box.

Amir Makleff, BridgeWave’s president and CEO, at ITEXPO today in Los Angeles told MobilityTechzone that the new solution is the holy grail for 4G carriers.

Everybody is using gigE interfaces, he says, but wireless backhaul solutions from competing vendors deliver more on the order of 300-, 400- or 800-megabit capacity, so networks using those products need to use quality of service mechanisms, making those networks more complex. A full gigabit radio like the one BridgeWave offers, he continues, behaves just like fiber, so there’s no need to plan for congestion.

Joseph Schraml, vice president of marketing at BridgeWave, adds that the company’s 4G backhaul solution is also unique in that it’s a single-box solution that is software-upgradable, so network technicians don’t have to climb the tower to do updates. By comparison, he says, other vendors offer solutions that involve multiple indoor and outdoor units. That means more moving parts and a second tower climb, increasing wireless carriers’ costs. Schraml adds that wireless services want lower their dollar per megabit transport cost.

The BridgeWave 4G solution is list priced at well under $30,000, whereas competing solutions (that require multiple components) are in the low $50,000 range, says Schraml.

The first carrier deployments of the new solution are expected to be deployed this quarter.

Makleff adds that BridgeWave already has had great success with the product, having been chosen for a 4G effort in the U.S. He adds that BridgeWave also has key relationships with large OEMs, including Alcatel-Lucent, to reach carriers outside the U.S.

BridgeWave also tells MobilityTechzone that it plans to expand upon its success in the 4G backhaul space with the delivery of a 4G microcell solution, which it expects to announce formally in the first quarter of next year.