A tier one operator in the United States has significantly reduced its network expansion costs using the TowerBooster Dual Band antenna from Radio Frequency Systems (RFS). The TowerBooster system is the only commercially available solution that combines the commonly used 6 GHz and 11 GHz bands into a single reflector. This dual-band, dual-polarized antenna, which has the same form factor as existing single band antennas, can allow capacity on microwave links to be doubled compared to single-band, dual-polarized options. Beyond the immediate capacity benefits, the TowerBooster solution will enable the network upgrade using existing fully loaded tower or weak infrastructure that cannot afford added load of an additional large antenna.
The operator has already started to deploy the TowerBooster systems at multiple locations that cannot be easily expanded to accommodate additional equipment. At one site, the TowerBooster gave an alternative solution to rebuilding a reinforced tower with a high CAPEX estimate of around $1m due to the protected nature of the site. The RFS dual-band solution addresses this challenge efficiently, without the need for tower rebuild costs or site expansion, resulting in a project cost of less than 10% of the rebuild estimate.
Further deployments will continue in 2022, with antennas delivered in a range of colors, some with high wind, high ice resistance to support mission-critical links in harsh environments.
Benjamin Gao, Regional Product Manager Microwave Antenna Solutions at RFS added, “The TowerBooster solution was created by putting customer pain points at the heart of the R&D process, and we are thrilled that the solution is now helping to address those for some of the world’s largest operators. Capacity has never been more critical for operators and being able to deliver more of it while minimizing total costs is a key goal of the TowerBooster line and we’re pleased to see that aim in action.”
Click here to learn more about the 6 GHz and 11 GHz TowerBooster Antennas.
