September 24, 2020
How Africell Sierra Leone enhanced the capacity of its 26 link backbone with 4×4 MIMO
26 links
all utilizing the same 4×4 MIMO configuration.
Africell Sierra Leone is a mobile network operator in West Africa with over 4 million subscribers who had just launched 4G in 2018 on their radio access network. This launch caused capacity constraints on the transport layer of their network. Because fiber was inaccessible and microwave spectrum was scarce, there was a concern that they would be unable to obtain extra capacity on their long microwave links.
Africell Sierra Leone struggled with the lack of spectrum in their region and their subsequent inability to provide high capacity to their radio access network. They needed a cost-effective alternative to connecting fiber to their sites.
Aviat proposed solving the capacity constraint using MIMO technology to get the most out of the available spectrum without degrading any performance of the microwave network.
For more details on this 4X4 MIMO deployment – download our case study.
About MIMO
MIMO or Multiple-In-Multiple-Out, technology is a method for multiplying the capacity of a radio link using multiple transmission and receiving antennas to exploit multipath propagation. MIMO has been the standard in mobile RAN and Wi-Fi systems for many years, to increase throughput efficiency with limited available bandwidth. LOS MIMO uses the same techniques and applies it to point-to-point microwave.
