Microwave Technology Overview

August 2011

Contents

1. 2.

Definition and Applications Radio Frequency Spectrum Utilization

3.
4.

Generic Structure of a Radio link

Protections

Definition And Applications

In this chapter you will learn

That this section is aimed at introducing the subject by defining the Microwave Radio Relay Link, its transmission capabilities and its application inside telecommunication networks

Definition: Characteristics

Characteristics

Line of Sight

Fixed

Point to point

Terrestrial

Definitions of Microwave Radio Relay Links

What are the differences between Microwave Radio relay and different radio systems used in telecommunications such as mobile radio, radio broadcasting, satellite or others? To understand this, it is necessary to define the specific features of our subject, namely: Line of Sight: Radio Relays use microwaves, that are electromagnetic waves with less than 10 centimeters wavelength. These waves can hardly propagate behind obstacles, therefore, in general circumstances, a good visibility is required between transmitting and receiving antennas.

Fixed: The Microwave Radio Relay systems are not meant to operate in mobile conditions.
Point to Point: Only two Radio terminals are connected together at a time. This allows using high directive antennas with the possibility of reaching greater distances even when using low transmitted powers. The communication between the two terminals is meant to be both bidirectional or unidirectional. Terrestrial: Unlike fixed point to point satellite links, Microwave Radio Relay systems connect two points on the earth surface, where the electromagnetic wave propagation is in the lower part of the atmosphere,i.e., near ground. As a consequence , the presence of atmosphere and ground affects the RF propagation thus introducing, with given probability, an attenuated or distorted received signal. Propagation models allow to calculate the probability of outage due to attenuation or distortion caused by atmospheric effects. The Radio Link is usually designed in such a way that the Power Received in normal propagation conditions, is much greater than the Receiver Threshold, thats the received power with a minimum acceptable quality of the signal.

Microwave Link Architectures

Single Hop

Site A

Site B

Repeater 1

Repeater 2

Repeater 3 Site B

Multiple Hop (Linear)

Site A

Star connection (multipoint)

Site B Site A

Site C

Site D

Microwave Link Architectures - Definitions

Taking into account the visibility between terminals and the possibility of connecting two points at a time, it becomes necessary to define different Microwave Radio link architectures to match the real topology of the network. They are: Single Hop: When conditions of visibility, distance and environment are favorable, the link can be realized with a single hop Microwave Radio Relay. The maximum distances that can be achieved with a single hop is between 5-10 kilometers for Radio working in the frequency band above 18 Giga Hertz, and is up to 50-80 kilometers or even more for Radio working in the frequency ranges below 10 Giga Hertz. Multiple Hop: If visibility between the two terminal sites to be connected is poor or the distance is too great, the multiple hop architecture must be used. In this case the intermediate radio acts as regenerator, or in other words as active repeater of the signal. In some cases, passive repeaters can be used when the problem is due to visibility, and not to distance. Star connection: When several sites must be reached from a main site, a multipoint connection architecture is used. The only way to implement it is by using Microwave Radio Links, and three different hops with three radio terminals in the same location.

Carried Signals

MW Radio Systems in principle can carry any kind of signal. Speaking of digital transmission and its application, it may offer different signal interfaces and must be able to support any kind of signal architecture, in particular:

PDH interfaces (ITU-T rec. G.703)

SDH interfaces (ITU-T rec. G. 707)

Ethernet interfaces

Carried Signals

Which signals can be transported via Microwave Radio? Radio Relay can be equipped with a variety of interfaces, suitable for any kind of network architecture, namely: For a network based on PDH (Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy), the E1 and E3 European interfaces as well as the North American T1, T2 and T3 interfaces should be included. In the PDH network, the Microwave Radio Relay transport the signals in a transparent manner. For network based on SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy), European interfaces (STM-n) as well as the North American (OC-n) interfaces should be included. In the SDH network, the Microwave Radio Relay usually operates as an SDH Regenerator.

For packet data network, normally 10BaseT & 100BaseT Fast Ethernet interfaces are commonly used, However, moving to high speed network, 1000BaseT Gigabit Ethernet interface is also becoming common nowadays.

Transmission Capacity
The transmission capacity depends on the applications. Usually we define:

Low Capacity systems: from 2 Mbps to 34 Mbps capacity

High Capacity systems: from 155 Mbps to 622 Mbps capacity (*)

(*) In principle if spectrum is available it can be even more, but in practice a radio system is not convenient above this capacity.

Transmission Capacity

The different kinds of signals can be carried within the transmission capacity limits of the Microwave Radio equipment. Transmission capacity depends on the purpose, frequency band and spectrum occupancy for which the specific equipment has been designed. Low capacity Microwave Radio Relays usually include multiplexer devices which carry up to 16 or even 32 E1 or T1 signals. Other types of signal interfaces, such as E3, T2, T3, Fast Ethernet, are normally accepted. Together with the transported signals, the radio relays are usually provided with additional capacity for service and supervisory channels. High capacity Microwave Radio Relays usually carry one or two SDH traffic per radio channel. Higher capacities are obtained with multiple radio systems. Together with the transported signals, high capacity Microwave Radio Links usually have additional capacity for service and supervisory channels, and may also carry some extra E1 signals as way-side traffic.

Application in the transmission networks - 1

Other than commonly use as a communication link, there are other several conditions where MW Radio can also applied:

Cable backup or SDH ring enclosure

Temporary links

High security requirement

Application in the transmission networks - 2

In a Network, from a functional point of view, the MW Radio System can play the same role of the physical bearers (fibers or cables), except when very high capacity is required (>1Gbit/s) In particular, when the cable is not yet available, it can be well used in the following situations due to: Quick & easy installation and relocation To avoid rental cost to the incumbent operator To reach small population groups on difficult terrain where the cable is not convenient to be deployed To quickly realize long distance connections without pre-existing transport infrastructures.

Application in the transmission networks - 3

In which case the use of a microwave radio link is more advantageous than a physical bearer? Quick and easy installation is very often a must for new operators, in order to offer service in a competitive environment and to obtain fast payback on investments. In this case, to lay-down new cables means high start-up investment and is time consuming. The alternative solution of renting lines from the pre-existing operator implies evident recurrent cost disadvantages. But even an incumbent operator may find situations where cables are not convenient to be deployed, such as when having to reach small population groups on difficult terrain.

Application in the transmission networks - 3

Even when copper or optical cable is already available we can find situations where the application of the MW link is advantageous:
A problem that operators may encounter both in remote areas and in crowded cities is that the cable might break . In conclusion, sometimes it is very convenient to provide MW link backup in order to avoid long periods of complete service unavailability. In particular this kind of link redundancy might improve SDH rings availability by realizing, via the radio, one of the branches of the ring (ring enclosure). Another situation to consider is that some events, like sport or concerts, may be organized in areas where their standard occupancy require only low bandwidth or capacities. In these cases only MW link are suitable to cover such temporary link requirements. Finally, when high security level is required for certain links, the Microwave radio is better than cable because it is much easier to protect the two terminals rather than all the path of a physical line. In addition, the high directivity of the antennas used makes interception difficult.

Example of Applications: Optical Networks

STM1/OC3 ADM

n x STM1

ADM

Local

ADM

SDH/SONET Ring

ADM ADM

Fiber
STM1/OC3

SDH/SONET Backbone Network

ADM

ADM

ADM

STM1/OC3
Remote Distribution Node

Example of Applications: MPLS networks

LAN router n*FE, GE Router

Router Router

MPLS

TDM/ ETH n*FE, GE

TDM /ETH

n*FE, GE LAN router LAN router

Example of Applications: Mobile Backhauling

Access Network

Aggregation Transport Network

BSC RNC

BTS/Node B Co-located

Point of Concentration

Point of Concentration

TDM/ETH TDM/ETH

Example of Applications: Private Data networks

Exchange Exchange

Radio Frequency Spectrum Utilization

In this chapter you will learn

This section aims at explaining how the radio spectrum is utilized by the microwave radio links. Therefore, it is necessary to first recall the elementary concepts of electromagnetic waves (as wavelength, frequency and polarization) to introduce the concepts of modulation, then to explain how the frequency bands are assigned for different purposes and, finally, how the assigned frequency bands are exploited by the microwave radio channels.

Electromagnetic Waves: definitions

Electromagnetic Waves: Polarization

Vertical Polarization H EARTH

Horizontal Polarization E EARTH

Modulation concepts
What is meant by modulation ? Why to use it ? Modulation is an operation that translates a signal from the lower frequencies (the baseband) into the radio frequencies, thus maintaining the same information of the original signal Modulation is used as follows:

It is almost physically impossible for the radio transmission of the lower frequency signals

It allows to translate different signals on different frequencies and to transmit them at the same time without spectral overlapping

Modulation concepts

f0

fmax

MODULATOR Fo - fmax RF Oscillator Fo B 2fmax Fo Fo+ fmax Bw = 2fmax

Channel Spacing
What is a Channel Spacing?
A transmitted modulated signal occupies a given band around the carrier frequency, depending on the kind of modulation and transmission capacity. It is then possible to transmit another modulated signal at a frequency distance (channel spacing) that prevent the two spectra from overlapping and can be separated by the receiver filters. Another possibility of separating two channels is of using different antenna polarizations (vertical or horizontal). A channel spacing states how the radio relay must allocate its transmission spectrum (the radio channel) inside a given frequency range.

Most of the radio relay applications require bi-directional communication, hence two radio channels are necessary for each link (GO and RETURN channel).

Channel Plans

Pol.

GO CHANNELS x 1 3

RETURN CHANNELS 1 3 N-1 F

H(V) V(H) z 2
x/2 x/2

...
4

N-1

...
4

N z

Frequency Bands and Channel Plans

Generic use of the full radio spectrum
Band VLF LF MF HF VHF UHF SHF EHF Frequency up to 30 kHz 30 300 kHz 3 30 MHz 30 300 MHz 3 30 GHz >30 GHz Typical Use Navigation systems Long-range broadcast, navigation systems Long-range commercial and military communications Mobile communications Point-to-point microwave links, including satellite communications Point-to-point microwave links (and other applications)

300 3000 kHz Medium wave broadcast and communications

300 3000 MHz Mobile communications

Frequency Bands and Channel Plans

Radio frequency ranges and channel plans for radio-relay systems (Up to 17 GHz)
Band Frequency range Rec. ITU-R Channel spacing (GHz) (GHz) F-Series (MHz) 1.4 1.35-1.53 Rec. [Doc. 9/12] 0.25; 0.5; 1; 2;3.5 2 1.427-2.69 701 0.5 (pattern) 1.7-2.1; 1.9-2.3 382 29 1.7-2.3 283 14 1.9-2.3 1098 3.5; 2.5 (patterns) 1.9-2.3 1098, Annexes 1 and 2 14 1.9-2.3 1098, Annex 3 10 2.3-.25 746, Annex 1 1; 2; 4; 14; 28 2.29-2.26 Rec. [Doc. 9/13] 0.25;0.5;1;1.75;2;3.5 7;14;2.5 (pattern) 2.5-2.7 283 14 4 3.8-4.2 382 29 3.6-4.2 635 10 (pattern) 3.6-4.2 635, Annex 1 90;80;60;40 5 4.4-5.0 746, Annex 2 28 4.4-5.0 1099 10 (pattern) 4.4-5.0 1099, Annex 1 40;60;80 4.54-4.9 1099, Annex 2 40;20 6L 5.925-6.425 383 29.65 5.85-6.425 383, Annex1 90;80:60 6L 6.425-7.11 384 40;20 6.425-7.11 384, Annex1 80 7 7.425-7.725 385 7 7.425-7.725 385, Annex 1 28 7.435-7.75 385, Annex 2 5 7.11-7.75 385, Annex 3 28 Band Frequency range (GHz) (GHz) 8 8.2-8.5 7.725-8.275 7.725-8.275 8.275-8.5 10 10.3-10.68 10.5-10.68 10.55-10.68 11 10.7-11.7 10.7-11.7 10.7-11.7 10.7-11.7 12 11.7-12.5 12.2-12.7 13 12.75-13.25 12.75-13.25 12.7-13.25 14 14.25-14.5 14.25-14.5 15 14.4-15.35 14.4-15.35 14.4-15.35 Rec. ITU-R F-Series 386 386, Annex 1 386, Annex 2 386, Annex 3 746, Annex 3 747, Annex 1 747, Annex 2 387, Annex 1 and 2 387, Annex 3 387, Annex 4 387, Annex 5 746, Annex 4, 3 746, Annex 4, 2 497 497, Annex 1 746, Annex 4, 1 746, Annex 5 746, Annex 6 636 636, Annex 1 636, Annex 2 Channel spacing (MHz) 11.662 28.65 40.74 14; 7 20; 5; 2 7;3;5 (patterns) 5;2.5;1.25 (patterns) 40 67 60 80 19.18 20 (pattern) 28; 7; 3.5 35 25; 12.5 28; 14; 7; 3.5 20 28; 14; 7; 3.5 2.5 (pattern) 2.5

Frequency bands and Channel Plans

Radio frequency ranges and cannel plans for radio-relay systems (above 17 GHz)
Band Frequency range (GHz) (GHz) 18 17.7-19.7 17.7-21.2 17.7-19.7 17.7-19.7 17.7-19.7 23 21.2-23.6 21.2-23.6 21.2-23.6 21.2-23.6 21.2-23.6 21.2-23.6 22.0-23.6 27 24.25-25.25 24.25-25.25 25.25-27.5 25.25-27.5 27.5-29.5 27.5-29.5 27.5-29.5 31 31.0-31.3 38 55 36.0-40.5 54.25-58.2 54.25-57.2 57.2-58.2 Rec. ITU-R F-Series 595 595, Annex 1 595, Annex 2 595, Annex 3 595, Annex 4 637 637, Annex 1 637, Annex 2 637, Annex 3 637, Annex 4 637, Annex 5 637, Annex 1 748 748, Annex 3 748 748, Annex 1 748 748, Annex 2 748, Annex 3 746, Annex 7 749 749, Annex 3 1100 1100, Annex 1 1100, Annex 2 Channel spacing (MHz) 220; 110; 55; 27.5 160 220; 80; 40; 20; 10; 6 3.5 13.75; 27.5 3.5; 2.5 (patterns) 112 to 3.5 28; 3.5 28; 14; 7; 3.5 50 112 to 3.5 112 to 3.5 3.5; 2.5 (patterns) 56; 28 3.5; 2.5 (patterns) 112 to 3.5 3.5; 2.5 (patterns) 112 to 3.5 112; 56; 28 25; 50 3.5; 2.5 (patterns) 112 to 3.5 3.5; 2.5 (patterns) 140; 56; 28; 14 100

Generic Structure of a Radio link

Generic Structure

Radio link system

Parabolic antennas

Site A
Feeder Tower Tower Feeder

Site B

Power room

Power room Equipment room

Equipment room

Generic Structure

TRANSMISSION SIDE
RF Tx FILTER BASEBAND INTERFACE MODULATOR IF IF/RF TRANMITTER

BB INPUT SIGNAL

BB INTERNAL

IF SIGNAL

RF

RF OUTPUT

RECEIVING SIDE
RF Rx FILTER
R/IFF RECEIVER DEMODULATOR IF BASEBAND INTERFACE

RF INPUT

RF

IF SIGNAL

BB INTERNAL

BB OUTPUT SIGNAL

Structures of Radio Equipment

Full-Indoor

RF CIRCULATOR

BB/MOD/TRANSMITTER

RECEIVER/DEM/BB

MW Waveguide

Split-Mount
BB /MOD Units BB /DEM Units
IF CABLE

TRANSMITTER

RECEIVER

Indoor

Outdoor

Radio Equipment: Full Indoor Structure

Antenna Radio Equipment (8 transceivers)

Feeder Tower

Radio Equipment: Split-Mount Structure

Coax Cable

Tower

Microwave Radio - Antenna System

Standard Antenna with Horizontal Polarization

Standard Antenna with Vertical Polarization

High Performance Antenna with radome

Different Equipment Configurations Protection & Multichannel

In this chapter you will learn

This module aims at introducing the concept of multiple microwave radio-relay equipment in order to increase the capacity or the availability (protection) of the link, and to describe the different possible configurations.

Different Equipment Configurations

The configuration of a microwave equipment is depending on the requirement of the specific radio link application, that may be different as:

Transmission Capacity
This requirement defines if the system can be realized by using a single radio channel or multiple radio channels

Grade of Availability
This requirement defines if a protection radio channel (the stand-by channel) must be added to the main channel (or channels)

Protection Definitions Why protection?

Protection circuits enhance both availability and quality of digital radio systems. In fact the general reason for the use of switching is the protection against equipment failures in order to increase availability. But in case the quality of radio channels is limited by multipath propagation conditions, protection switching may also be used to increase error performance (quality) of the link.

Protection Definitions

The typical notation to indicate the number of radio channels of a system is: N + M , where N stands for the number of main channels and M stands for the number of stand-by channels (usually 1, but 0 in case of non protected system)

Based on the transmission capacity requirement of the Radio Relay two types of protection are generally implemented :

1+1

N+1

Protection: 1+1 Generic configuration

1+1 PROTECTION Working channel Mod. Tx Rx Dem. BB section BB
Interface Interface

BB section BB

Standby channel Mod. Tx Rx Dem.

Hitless Switch

It is possible to implement three different types of 1+1 protection

1+1 hot standby

1+1 with frequency diversity

1+1 with space diversity

1+1 Protection: 1+1 Hot-Stand-By (HSB) configuration

1+1 PROTECTION Working channel f1 Mod. Tx

f1

Rx

Dem. BB Section
Interface

BB Section BB
Interface

BB

Standby channel
Mod. Tx f1 f1 Rx Dem.

1+1 Protection: 1+1 Frequency Diversity (FD) configuration

1+1 PROTECTION Working channel f1 Mod. Tx

f1

Rx

Dem. BB Section
Interface

BB Section BB
Interface

BB

Standby channel

Mod.

Tx

f2

f2

Rx

Dem.

1+1 Protection: 1+1 Hot-Stand-By with Space Diversity (HSB-DA)

1+1 PROTECTION Working channel Mod. Tx Rx Dem. BB Section

Interface

BB Section BB
Interface

BB

Standby channel Mod.

Tx

Rx

Dem.

Equipment Configurations - Split-Mount Architecture

IDU (Indoor Unit)

IF Cable

ODU (Outdoor Unit)

A)

Compact Configuration (1+0)

Signal from/to Network

RRA/TFE+MODEM

TRANSCEIVER

B)

1+1/2+0 Configuration

Signal from/to Network

2xRRA/TFE+ 2MODEM

2x TRANSCEIVERS

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