EKINOPS introduces compact, low-power mobile backhaul solutions for rural, temperature-challenged environments

"Remote cell sites rarely have the amenities of urban and metro sites, but they still must support 3G and 4G services," said François Xavier Ollivier, Chief Operating Officer of Ekinops. "Space, power, and cooling/heating are particular challenges, so it is critical for service providers to have access to transport solutions that can function in these tough environments and make the best use of limited space."

That is the approach EKINOPS is taking with its rural backhaul solutions, built around the capabilities of its EKINOPS 360 multi-purpose transport system. They address the issue of space constraints by maximizing the performance and capacity in either a 1RU or 2RU system. They operate with -48V DC or +24V AC power feeds and consume very little power, or even no power in situations where sites require only a passive solution.

The EKINOPS equipment is also certified for Extended Temperature Range (ETR) operations from -40 to +65 degrees Celsius, or -40 to 149 degrees Fahrenheit. The EKINOPS 360 ETR products that have already been deployed in large quantities include the 2RU C200 chassis, management, optical amplifiers and supervision modules, add-drop multiplexers, and dispersion compensation modules.

"Rural markets are helping drive the growth in mobile data and voice traffic, but because of the economics in these areas, it is essential that service providers find cost-effective solutions," said Ollivier. “Very few equipment vendors provide what it takes, such as ETR products that can be deployed deeper into the rural network, where backhaul is complicated by distance, limited facilities, extreme temperatures, and other operational issues."

EKINOPS has designed the backhaul solution to support a range of architectures, from hub-and-spoke to ring, tree, mesh, or a combination. The same solution can also be leveraged to support other new or existing applications, such as backhauling residential and commercial traffic and high-capacity enterprise services. Like all EKINOPS products, it is built around the T-Chip (Transport-on-a-Chip) technology, with multiple functions and features combined onto a single programmable chip, reducing power needs while improving performance. The EKINOPS 360 is 100G capable, so it is a long-term solution as capacity needs continue to grow.

In areas where there is a great distance between cell sites, EKINOPS' backhaul solution features DynaFEC, dynamic forward error correction technology, eliminating transmission errors and the need for signal regeneration facilities. In addition, EKINOPS offers design, planning, and deployment services to insure optimal performance and minimize the need for technician trips to the cell sites.