sarabandfp7.eu
SMART ANTENNA & RADIO FOR ACCESS AND
BACKHAUL FOR ADVANCED NETWORK NODES
PRESENTATION
D1.1.
FP7-ICT-2011-7-288267
FP7-ICT-2011-7-288267
● sarabandfp7.eu
Q Band Frequency
The SARABAND project aims at taking advantage of the Q-band frequency band
(40,5 to 43,5 GHz) in a cost effective way to provide higher performing and
integrated network nodes for the wireless backhaul of future mobile radio and
last mile access for the digital divide by developing smart antennas and front-end
radio modules. The use of millimeter waves, particularly at Q-band where 3GHz
bandwidth has been regulated by EU, can bring large capacity with high
throughputs, fast deployment, with lightweight and discrete equipment
FP7-ICT-2011-7-288267 ● sarabandfp7.eu
Project Description
As mobile operators face increasing density of base stations as well as growing
bandwidth requirements, mobile backhaul has become the new challenge. To reduce
the digital divide and as a complement to the Fiber to the Home, especially where cost
to deploy fiber cannot be justified, it is proposed to deliver capacity to enterprises and
households over the last miles at much more reasonable cost. In this context, millimeter
wave technology, especially in the Q-band, fits nicely into these new backhaul
scenarios and can bring large capacity with high throughputs, fast deployment and
discrete equipment.
The SARABAND project will focus on the development of low profile high gain and
programmable multi-beam Q-band antennas, and on the development of miniaturized
radio module based on new substrate, new packaging and interconnection process in
Q-band frequency. This approach will enable operators to capitalize on the massive
bandwidth available in the EU regulated Q-band (40,5-43,5 GHz) for future wireless
backhaul, as well as last mile access to bridge the digital divide in a most cost-efficient,
easily deployable and energy efficient way.
FP7-ICT-2011-7-288267 ● sarabandfp7.eu
Project Description
The SARABAND project will address this issue by creating state of the art, smart, high
gain & agile Q-band antennas with miniaturized Q-band radio head inside. To this end,
SARABAND will handle the following concepts:
•The first SARABAND project concept is to leverage the EU regulated Q-band
(40,5-43,5 GHz) to help overcome the digital divide for next generation mobile
backhaul.
•The second concept of the SARABAND project is to exploit sub-wavelength Lens
and Switched Parasitic Array technologies to design small form factor,
programmable, high gain, multi-beam antennas, in order to achieve low cost
production and performance "beyond state of the art".
•The third concept of the SARABAND project is to exploit new packaging and
interconnection solutions with the latest process technology to provide Q-band
radio head modules with low loss, high power and high reliability at a fraction of
the price of any available radio today.
•The fourth concept of the SARABAND project is to integrate innovative
miniaturized steerable antennas with advanced Q-band circuits to produce small,
low cost novel network systems with outstanding performance and high-energy
efficiency.
FP7-ICT-2011-7-288267 ● sarabandfp7.eu
Work Plan
FP7-ICT-2011-7-288267 ● sarabandfp7.eu
Work Packages and Leaders
WP1 Project Coordination and Management
TCF
WP2 Network Architecture and System specifications
BLW
WP3 Q-band Low profile & High Gain Antenna
THALES
WP4 Smart Q-band Programmable Multi-beam Antenna Fraunhofer
WP5 Q-band Radio Head Module
TCF
WP6 System Set-up & Test
BLW
WP7 Integration Platform & Small-scale Field Trials
FIB
WP8 Dissemination & Exploitation
UPVLC
FP7-ICT-2011-7-288267 ● sarabandfp7.eu
Objective
The main objective of SARABAND Project is, in relation with operators needs and
investments trends, the development of a wireless network plateform for a small scale
field trial in a campus, incorporating the building blocks developed during the project
(Specific smart antennas, front end electronics, network management) associated with
a measurement campaign for the evaluation of the service performance
FP7-ICT-2011-7-288267 ● sarabandfp7.eu
Partners
Thales Communications & Security SA
Bluwan UK Ltd
Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches
Aerospatiales
Fraunhofer - High Frequency Physics and
Radar Techniques
Thales Research & Technology
Systrel SAS
Universidad Politécnica de Valencia
Fibernova Systems SL
Orteh SP. Z O.O.
FP7-ICT-2011-7-288267 ● sarabandfp7.eu