FRTek, a leading supplier of wireless, amplifier solutions, and advanced repeater technologies to the mobile communications industry announced that it has entered an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partnership with Movandi providing semiconductors and antenna modules for FRTek PrimAer’s smart repeaters in the 24/26 GHz (n258), 28 GHz (n257/n261) and 39 GHz (n260) spectrum bands. FRTek PrimAer smart repeaters with patented fiber cascading capabilities are being deployed today with global tier-one 5G service providers including Verizon to deliver unprecedented 5G mmWave coverage.
FRTek’s PrimAer 28 GHz smart repeater was recently shown at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Tech Summit, November 30 – December 2, 2021, at the Fairmont Orchid Hotel located on the western side of Hawaii. Qualcomm released their Snapdragon 8 GEN 1 Mobile Platform and demonstrated the industry’s first 8K HDR live video streaming using Snapdragon 8 powered reference smartphones in a video call that took place between Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon in Hawaii and Verizon CTO Kyle Malady in New Jersey.
The FRTek PrimAer 5G mmWave smart repeater family is the most innovative on the market with patented fiber cascading capabilities that enable service providers unequaled deployment versatility for fixed wireless access to residences and businesses and to extend outdoor and indoor range and coverage,” said Milla Woo, CEO and president at FRTek US, LLC. “Only with Movandi feature and performance innovation in 5G mmWave RF silicon technology solutions were we able to deliver the FRTek PrimAer family. We are excited to enable service providers to bring the 5G vision to life for their customers.”
Widespread deployment of FRTek PrimAer repeaters will extend 5G mmWave coverage to a broader range of customers who need reliable, high-speed internet access and 5G mobile service anywhere they are. FRTek PrimAer repeaters are designed to amplify 5G mmWave signals derived from nearby base stations and retransmit them to underserved areas. High-density areas, indoors or outdoors, especially those with multi-story buildings, stadiums, and shopping environments, will benefit from the increased deployment of FRTek repeaters.
“Our collaboration with FRTek, and their expertise in the designing and manufacturing smart repeaters for 5G mmWave, helps to ensure that we’re able to meet the high-performance requirements of our mutual customers,” said Maryam Rofougaran, CEO and founder with Movandi. “We're committed to driving innovation and helping mobile network operators scale 5G deployments economically by offering unmatched core semiconductor technology to ODMs and OEMs.”
The new FRTek PrimAer smart repeater portfolio is field-proven and now supports all global markets and licensed spectrum bands. The FRTek PrimAer repeaters use phased array modules including Movandi beamformers, up/down converters, PLL synthesizers, phased array antennas, algorithms, and software to bring the 5G high bandwidth and low latency vision to life.
FRTek’s PrimAer smart repeaters are 3GPP compliant and offer industry-leading capabilities that reduce service provider deployment costs and time while enhancing range and coverage for outdoor, indoor, and outdoor-to-indoor applications such as urban densification, fixed wireless access, venue/campus coverage, office, and residential indoor coverage, and private networking.
Key features of FRTek’s PrimAer Smart Repeaters:
- Patented fiber connectivity and cascading allows up to four smart repeaters to be daisy-chained up to 600 meters apart providing great deployment flexibility
- The cascading capability allows one donor unit to support multiple server units connected via fiber or over-the-air (OTA) enhancing deployment flexibility and enabling mmWave to be directed around obstacles
- Movandi BeamXR software-defined beam networking (SDBN) enables remotely programmed beam forming and steering allowing continuous coverage optimization and reducing OPEX
- Donor units automatically find the best server, decodes the SSB, synchronizes TDD, and supports 38 dBm per polarization at 64 QAM with 45-degree azimuth and 45-degree elevation scan angles
- Single server units can support multiple beam patterns from narrow to wide beams depending on coverage objectives with 38 dBm per polarization at 64 QAM and programmable angle coverage of 30-degree azimuth and 15-degree elevation
- Internal LTE modem enables remote operations and maintenance
Independent studies by Mobile Experts LLC, a leading industry analyst firm, have shown that smart repeaters can cut mmWave costs and deployment time in half solving the twin deployment problems of capital cost and time to market.
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