Wireless testing vendor EXFO recently announced an enhanced FTTA test portfolio for its FTB-700G and FTB-800 NetBlazer Series.
The new fiber-to-the-antenna (FTTA) test portfolio is meant to validate the fiber and underlying CPRI communication integrity between the base station and remote radio head with speeds of up to 9.8 Gbit/s, said EXFO.
To add capacity and coverage for LTE services, telecoms are deploying distributed antenna system (DAS) networks and small cells. DAS manufacturers are increasingly using the CPRI protocol as the go-to interface between base stations and DAS head-ends.
The benefits of using CPRI include substantial decreases of head-end deployment costs as well as minimized space needs, said EXFO. Both the Ethernet/Optical FTB-700G series and Netblazer FTB-800 series support all the needs of a technician to maintain and manage fiber-based cell sites more cost effectively.
“By adding Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) rates, EXFO is future-proofing its technology to meet the requirements of next-generation, fibre-based remote radio networks,” said Claudio Mazzuca, vice president, Transport and Service Assurance Division.
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