mmWave technology experts, Siklu, will soon begin shipping Terragraph-compliant, gigabit-speed fixed wireless broadband access systems to service providers in the US and UK. Field trials for the new N366 & T265 systems have begun and full commercial services are expected to commence in 1Q 2021.
Terragraph is a technology developed by Facebook Connectivity to solve the last mile connectivity challenge and serve under-connected communities around the globe. It is an 802.11ay-based, multi-gigabit wireless technology designed to deliver fiber-like speeds over the air at a significantly lower cost and faster time to market than that of trenched fiber. The 802.11ay standardization results in complete end-to-end solutions and promotes volume production of equipment, which drives down prices.
The 60 GHz band is attractive for this application as it is unlicensed (free to use) and supported in the vast majority of countries around the world. Further, it has virtually zero interference from other 60 GHz wireless networks and plenty of available bandwidth, conditions which enable high-density low latency multi-gigabit connections.
"Siklu's announcement and other recent developments at Terragraph demonstrate the viability of a mass market for gigabit fixed wireless broadband access for both residential and business customers," noted Sue Rudd, Director – Networks and Service Platforms at Strategy Analytics. "By achieving important economies of scale and Gigabit-speed connections, Siklu and Terragraph fixed wireless now offer a flexible high-performance alternative to optical and co-ax options such as FTTH and DOCSIS 3.0 - at a lower cost and with faster deployment."
"We expect 2021 to be a big year for the deployment of cost-effective, Terragraph-based fixed wireless broadband, and Siklu's announcement today provides further evidence of that," said Dan Rabinovitsj, vice president for Facebook Connectivity. "We have worked with Siklu since the early days of Terragraph, and we are excited to see the progress they have made to incorporate our technical innovations into the already impressive Siklu portfolio of high-speed broadband infrastructure."
Siklu's Terragraph product line represents the company's third generation of 60 GHz multipoint solutions, known as the MultiHaul™ product line. The N366 is an integrated system that features 360-degree coverage, the ability to self-organize into a neighborhood L2 SDN (software-defined network) mesh and just under 16 Gbps of total capacity. Combined with the first Terminal Units, the T265, network operators are able to cover entire cities with Siklu's Terragraph solution. Siklu also offers a complete line of advanced software applications for planning, designing, deploying, and operating extensive fixed and smart city mmWave networks.
"In almost all situations, wireless networks are quicker to deploy than wired ones. By incorporating Terragraph into our fixed wireless equipment, service providers can now easily generate profits based on the MH TG fiber quality and wireless flexibility in a variety of network topologies," said Ronen Ben-Hamou, CEO of Siklu. "As we have learned over the last several months, broadband is needed more than ever and MH TG is an effective way to close the digital divide with gigabit-speed broadband. This release represents the first of a full suite of Terragraph-based products on our roadmap for 2021."
Facebook Connectivity and Siklu are hosting a webinar about Terragraph and Siklu's new MultiHaul™ TG product family on Tuesday, December 8, 2020, at 11 AM EST / 3 PM GMT.
