Communication is a basic human need, and when you lose your connection, quick recovery is essential. This is the case for the population of the remote Manua Islands in American Samoa. Despite Covid travel restrictions, Ericsson and the American Samoa Telecommunications Authority (ASTCA) have restored important connections to the world through extremely long microwave backhaul links.
The American Samoa Telecommunications Administration (ASTCA) provides telecommunications services to residents of the American Samoa Islands, a US territory located in remote areas of the Pacific Ocean. The main backhaul system between the islands consists of fiber optic cables and satellite connections. During the Independence Day weekend of 2021, the submarine optical cable connecting Tutuila and the Manua Islands failed, and all telecommunications services in the Manua Islands were completely stranded.
ASTCA selected Ericsson in 2019 to provide a high-capacity wireless backup system for the existing fiber optic network between the islands. One of the planned microwave links will connect Tutuila Island to the Manua Islands at a distance of 84.23 miles (135.55 kilometers). From this perspective, it is the same distance between New York City and Philadelphia.
Adding to the challenge is that more than 95% of the links are on the water, and multipath reflections are likely to occur, which may reduce link performance. The solution is to use MINI-LINK 6291, which is a long-distance split system with 6L GHz frequency, 2+0 space diversity and ACCP.
The MINI-LINK 6200 microwave product series combines multiple channels to create a relay radio link while keeping the link budget low loss. The link has low loss, can achieve long distances, and has a microwave capacity of up to 10Gbps while maintaining high availability.
Ericsson's long-distance system utilizes the frequency range of 6-13 GHz to provide best-in-class spectrum efficiency and maximize the available spectrum.
Ericsson received an emergency call on July 4, requesting immediate activation and operation of the microwave link between Tutuila and the Manua Islands-well ahead of the planned schedule. This is a challenge because American Samoa is very remote and has imposed COVID-19 travel restrictions. Since most of the preparatory work has been in place, the Ericsson team can install the link with the local ASTCA team, which is responsible for installing the microwave antenna and aligning with Ericsson's remote support and guidance. Subsequently, the people of Manua Island restored telecommunications services. The link now provides a stable 1Gbps backhaul for most of the year, and over this extremely long distance, it provides 600Mbps with the availability of 4 9s.
MINI-LINK is a market-leading microwave series suitable for cost-effective mobile transmission networks.
How do you plan your network to provide high capacity at a reasonable cost in rural or remote areas without optical fiber? Long-distance microwave is the answer.
MINI-LINK 6200 brings 5G transmission outside the urban area-with market-leading long-distance capacity, up to 10 Gbps within 35 kilometers. MINI-LINK 6200 has L2 and L3 support and up to 5 x 10 G interfaces. As a necessity of 5G, it has low latency and supports phase and time synchronization. Depending on the required capacity and available space on site, there are four different architectural practices to choose from.
This blog discusses the technical drivers, scenarios, and benefits associated with the use of microwave long-distance measurement of transmission networks in rural and remote areas.
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