Aviat upgrades MTN Ghana's microwave backbone capacity

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA: Aviat Networks, Inc. announced that it is deploying its STR600 ultra-high capacity microwave radio solution for MTN Ghana as a part of the upgrade of the leading African mobile operator's backhaul network to full IP capability. The STR600 links will form a critical element of the MTN Ghana backbone network, supporting a resilient, ultra-high capacity ring network delivering more than 1.8Gbps of data throughput.

Aviat's STR600 enables MTN Ghana to upgrade its existing Aviat Eclipse backbone network without having to deploy new all-indoor trunking radios. The STR600 radio is fully compatible with Aviat's currently installed Eclipse platform enabling equipment reuse while providing a significant increase in backbone capacity and minimizing upgrade costs.

The new system combines increased bandwidth efficiency to make the most of MTN Ghana's licensed frequency spectrum with performance enhancing techniques to overcome possible transmission problems posed by the atmosphere over long microwave paths. STR600 is available in the 6, 7, 8 and 11GHz frequency bands.

Hendrik Vorster, chief technical officer, MTN Ghana, said: "For many years, we have built our backhaul network using Aviat's Eclipse hybrid platform, and now we are migrating the entire network to IP. The STR600 enables us to significantly increase our backbone capacity while maintaining compatibility with our Eclipse installed base."