TRENDS

ProLabs and the ‘new 5G backhaul economy

As we navigate our way through the Covid-19 pandemic, we are finding that economic and social survival is tied to the ability to work and play at a distance. If ever there was a time for a revolutionary new internet technology to take hold, now would seem to be that time.

So says Raymond Hagen, Americas Product Manager at ProLabs, a global leader in optical networking infrastructure. He notes in a recent blog entry that: “Visionaries may state that 5G will offer access to new applications like artificial intelligence and smart city infrastructure that could define the next industrial revolution. Companies and countries failing to act now will find themselves left behind global and regional powers that are indeed investing in 5G.”

Hagen says, “The ‘New Backhaul Economy’ is poised to disrupt the traditional wireless backhaul ecosystem built for previous wireless generations.”

To this, Marcel Fouché, networking and storage general manager at value-added distributor, Networks Unlimited Africa, which distributes ProLabs in sub-Saharan Africa, offers a clarification.

Says Fouché, “5G is a revolutionary next-generation mobile network that is not just a technology implementation but shifts the entire network architecture paradigm. Wireless backhaul is the wireless communication and network infrastructure responsible for transporting communication data from end users or nodes to the central network or infrastructure and vice versa.”

As Hagen notes, wholesale backhaul services in the 4G and earlier environments were simple and straightforward, and a backhaul provider could be assured of the fibre capacity for current and future data needs. Today, however, as we look ahead to the widespread rollout of 5G enhanced mobile broadband, we can see that it is able to achieve significantly improved data rates, but it also requires the ‘pipes’ feeding the network to be super-sized.

“Therefore,” continues Fouche, “significant changes in infrastructure are required to effect the functionality of the fifth-generation technology standard for cellular networks. This includes the transition from backhaul into x-Haul (including fronthaul, midhaul and backhaul), with implications for mobile operators, network wholesalers and transport providers from both the technological and business aspects.”

He clarifies, “Fronthaul is a similar concept to backhaul, which, simply put, links the mobile network back to the wired network. Fronthaul is the connection between a new network architecture of centralised baseband controllers and remote standalone radio heads at cell sites. Similarly, ‘midhaul’ could be the link between the controller or the radio head that feeds the next link.”

Hagen says, “Internet of Things, smart energy, smart agriculture, and critical performance applications such as driverless cars are a few of the many applications for 5G technology. The supporting 5G x-Haul architecture will require not only significant bandwidth upgrades in backhaul transport links but in the distribution (midhaul) and access (fronthaul) network segments.

…5G’s x-Haul architecture will aggregate data from multiple radios to distribution unit (DU) and central unit (CU) elements at significantly higher data rates than earlier generations. The fibre infrastructure required to aggregate 5G’s massive data requirements is central to the ‘new backhaul economy’.

Alkesh Patel, SVP EMEA and India from ProLabs, says, “Success in this new economy will be driven by participants that adapt rapidly to solve the challenges of offering 5G x-Haul services. ProLabs offers high quality optical transceivers that not only cater to new 5G implementations but also support the move from legacy systems to 5G transport in a cost-effective manner.”

About ProLabs

ProLabs is a leading provider of optical networking solutions. For over two decades, it has delivered optical connectivity solutions that give customers freedom, choice, and seamless interoperability. It serves a diverse range of industries including enterprises, governments, and the largest worldwide service providers.

By championing higher standards for technology and service, ProLabs is changing the mindset of data centre and service providers the world over. It supplies solutions that are 100% compatible in form and functionality across 100 OEM manufacturers, covering more than 20,000 systems and platforms. For more information, please visit www.prolabs.com.

About Networks Unlimited Africa

Networks Unlimited is a value-added distributor, committed to empowering African businesses through innovative technology solutions. Our focus includes the world’s leading security, networking, storage, enterprise system management (ESM) and cloud technologies. As a company, we are dedicated to taking our partner ecosystem to new heights. We support our partners through operational excellence, a competitive pricing strategy and strong focus on education, with the view of investing in long-term relationships. We work with competitive, resilient businesses, who are leaders in their field of excellence.

Our offerings include a portfolio of products highly regarded by Gartner, such as Altaro, Attivo Networks, Carbon Black, Cofense, Fortinet, F5, Hitachi Vantara, NETSCOUT, NVIDIA, ProLabs, RSA, Rubrik, SentinelOne, SevOne, Silver Peak, Tenable, Tintri and Uplogix.

Contacts

Networks Unlimited Africa: prolabs@nu.co.za +27 (0) 11 202 8400

icomm: Vivienne Fouché, +27 (0) 82 602 1635 vivienne@pr.co.za www.icomm-pr.co.za