CommScope, a supplier of network infrastructure solutions, has introduced a 4×4 MIMO base station antenna for 1400 MHz – 2700 MHz range.
This is the world’s first antenna that supports 4×4 MIMO, a 5G-enabling technology for increasing network capacity, in all frequency spectrum bands.
“An antenna that covers this wide a range of frequency bands did not seem possible even one year ago, yet today CommScope is supplying them for deployment in Europe,” said Farid Firouzbakht, senior vice president, RF Products, CommScope.
CommScope said the ultra-wideband antenna RRZZ-65B can support one or two antenna arrays in 1427-2690 MHz, a high band range no other antenna can match. It can also support a low band range of 694-960 MHz.
The RRZZ-65B supports 4T4R operation, meaning four beams of transmit and receive signals, in both the low and high band ranges, as well as frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD), CommScope said.
Mobile network operators can combine on one antenna the supplemental downlink band of 1400 MHz as well the primary band. CommScope said it can also be used in conjunction with external filters to separate different licensed bands as needed, such as the 2300 TDD band, making it easier to customize for specific needs.
The RRZZ-65B is the first antenna available to the industry to support 4xMIMO for 1400 MHz. The market driver for the RRZZ-65B antenna is the 1400 MHz spectrum that has recently been auctioned in Europe. CommScope expects to support 3.5 GHz, a likely 5G frequency band, with this antenna platform in the future.
CommScope said the ultra-wideband antennas help operators support multiple wireless networks via space-saving equipment, minimizing leasing costs while delivering flexibility for future network configurations.