Aviat Networks has launched a new microwave router that incorporates microwave transport, Layer 2 carrier ethernet and Layer 3 IP/MPLS routing in one product.
The vendor said its CTR 8540 runs on open, software-based architecture, meaning it can be deployed as a Layer 2 microwave product. Telcos can then install a software upgrade that adds IP/MPLS functionality.
The router uses MPLS traffic engineering, which can offer software defined networking (SDN) backhaul resource management and optimisation. It can also lead to a migration to SDN architecture in the longer term, the vendor said.
The CTR 8540 is being used by Russia-based 4G LTE operator Osnova Telecom, Aviat revealed.
Patrick Donegan, Senior Analyst at Heavy Reading, said the research firm is forecasting “strong demand” from mobile operators for microwave networking solutions.
“Based on our survey of mobile operators that make heavy use of microwave backhaul, interest in this category is intense. Seventy six percent of operators say they are ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to deploy a microwave router within three years,” he said.
This new market segment, which merges the best of microwave radio and IP router technologies, is headed by Aviat, Donegan added.
Michael Pangia, President and CEO of Aviat Networks, commented: “As a microwave platform, CTR 8540 is the most compact and highly integrated solution available. It combines the functionality of five separate devices and supports 50 percent more radio interfaces and twice as many Gigabit Ethernet ports as any other microwave solution, as well as delivers up to 4 Gbps of aggregate capacity per link.”
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