Cambridge Communication Systems (CCS) has provided its Metnet 60G unlicensed mmWave wireless solution for the UK backed 5G Smart Tourism project in the historic city of Bath. CCS’ Metnet 60G delivers up to 12Gbps per radio, providing gigabit backhaul to support interactive 5G smart tourism applications and enhanced visual experiences using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology. The AR and VR content and technology capabilities will be provided by the BBC and Aardman with support from the University of Bristol’s Smart Internet Lab.
The deployment and go-live of CCS Metnet 60 GHz self-organizing mesh radios across the centre of Bath marks a key milestone in the 5G Smart Tourism project being delivered in Bath and Bristol, which is led by the West of England Combined Authority and supported by a £5M competition award from the UK government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The 5G Smart Tourism project brings together 25 organizations and will see the development of a testbed to demonstrate 5G capability, establishing the West of England as a world-leader in the development of advanced fixed and mobile communication systems.
The world-class 5G technology test network is being delivered by key consortium partners – including CCS, BT, Zeetta, InterDigital, and University of Bristol Smart Internet Lab – and will demonstrate self-provision of 5G and Wi-Fi plus innovative mmWave backhaul capabilities from CCS.
Across the centre of Bath, CCS Metnet units have been deployed on existing urban streets assets to extend fibre connections and provide low latency, high-speed wireless connectivity. The Metnet nodes were rapidly deployed in just one day by electrical contractors – without the need to frequency plan or manually align antennas. Metnet’s discreet, single-unit form factor with highly integrated technology was able to meet all key requirements and satisfy stringent local planning restrictions, resulting in a smooth and swift roll-out.
As part of the West of England testbed to push the boundaries of 5G in two of the region’s key cities, CCS Metnet 26 GHz licensed radios have also been deployed recently in Bristol, and leveraged to support a visitor safety demonstration managed by Zeeta Networks’ NetOS network management platform utilizing 5G Network Slicing technology.
According to CCS, this marks a key phase in a very significant and exciting 5G project, which the Metnet technology has been pivotal in enabling. This cutting-edge network demonstrates innovative use of the new 57-71 GHz unlicensed band, and highlights the huge potential for the 14 GHz of spectrum – recently opened up by Ofcom – for enabling the delivery of ubiquitous high-speed connectivity through gigabit 5G Fixed Wireless Access services.
Metnet from CCS is the world’s only self-organizing 5G mmWave mesh backhaul. Delivering high capacity, ultra-low latency and ultra-fast deployment, it is optimized for performance edge and evolving multi-gigabit capacity, and is currently powering networks to mmWave 5G performance in major live deployments across the world. It offers its unique SON multipoint solution in the 24/26/28 GHz area based licensed bands, plus its new Metnet 60G mmWave access and backhaul system in the unlicensed mmWave band, using Metnet 3D SON for frequency agility and interference management. Click here to know more about the mm-Wave 5G backhaul solution from Metnet.
