Ciena is working with Clearwire on the backhaul for the carrier’s mobile WiMax networks, reports Dan Jones of Unstrung.
Ciena says its kit is deployed in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Portland, Ore.
“Ciena’s Carrier Ethernet platforms are at the towers (LE-311v) and aggregation sites (CN 5305) and provide the backhaul,” the official adds. “Clearwire is able to provision an end-to-end Carrier Ethernet circuit across both microwave and fiber portions of the network using Ciena’s equipment and software (Ethernet Services Manager).”
Clearwire typically uses the microwave links in licensed 18 GHz and 24 GHz bands (from DragonWave), as well as some unlicensed 5.8 Ghz backhaul. The 5.8 Ghz is still relatively free from interference, according to company CTO, John Saw. Deploying microwave backhaul in a flat IP network can save big money compared to fiber.
Clearwire uses microwave to the tower, but further in they have fiber as well. Clear uses a mixture of microwave and backhaul for the system and Ciena’s switches to centralize traffic.
