FiberTower said Cambridge Communication Systems (CCS) has delivered to it the CCS Metnet, an FCC-certified 24 GHz small cells and 5G backhaul solution that is ready for immediate deployment.
CCS Metnet is built to handle wireless backhaul, transport and 5G infrastructure and can provide both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight connectivity. CCS said Metnet is the only self-organizing microwave backhaul system that is FCC-certified for operation in the 24 GHz spectrum band.
"The FiberTower purchase marks the first delivery in North America of our 24 GHz self-organizing backhaul and transport system," said CCS CEO and co-founder Steve Greaves in a statement. "We see in FiberTower a serious 24 GHz licensee and proven developer of millimeter wave small cell and 5G solutions that is dedicated to highly scalable service offerings."
"CCS…provides FiberTower with a low-profile, easy to deploy, multipoint-to-multipoint solution capable of half-gigabit throughput," said Joseph Sandri, FiberTower co-president, in a statement. "It provides our customers with carrier-grade broadband signal up to 2km from each unit."
The companies said that each unit covers a 270-degree area and sweeps the sector to look for other units to connect with every 100 milliseconds.
The CCS Metnet has a small design, so it can be more easily installed on lampposts, sides of buildings and roofs, and its multipoint-to-multipoint architecture can help overcome deployment challenges in dense urban environments.
FiberTower will likely use Metnet to continue its work in building out municipal broadband networks.
FiberTower has been around since 2014 and it provides small and macro cell backhaul as well as spectrum leasing. The company services government buildings, schools, libraries and other locations with fixed wireless broadband.
For more:
- see this press release
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