I have been saying this for years that a typical “co-axial” based DAS (Distributed Antenna System) is not future proof. Those folks that bought into the notion that this infrastructure could support all flavors of 802.11 have had to contend with “rip and replace”…not once but several times! Yes….the days of a coaxial based DAS are winding down. In fact…we should not use the term DAS anymore, but suggest DWFA (Distributed Wireless Fiber Architecture). It seems that Corning (they make fiber…as well as Gorilla Glass!) has introduced an all optical infrastruture. Being Corning makes fiber optic cabling….this makes sense. Some of the benefits include:
All-Fiber Platform – Provides unlimited bandwidth, faster deployment and less labor
due to pre-connectorized solution.
1:1 Optical Connectivity – Seamless fiber media to the antenna
Built-in SISO/MIMO Antenna – Minimized footprint
Gigabit Ethernet Support – Unifies WiFi and cellular over single media and backhaul
of Ethernet backhaul and PoE
Support for all RF Sources – Femto-listening mode provides small-cell enablement for
smaller venues.
Configurable Sectorization – Capacity steering maxmimizes operator resources. A
single headend supports up to three sectors/layers.
Stay tuned for a series of blogs surrounding the “next generation of “optical” wireless infrastructure. This is going to turn the traditional “wired” network on it’s head. At the end of the day….it about the compelling need for bandwidth.
