Huawei releases Blade Antenna enabling flexible antenna evolution in the 5G era

[Zurich, Switzerland, October 14, 2019] Huawei recently released its Blade Antenna to help network operators speed their evolution towards the 5G era. The Blade Antenna features a modularized design rather than a traditional panel design and splits the antenna into an upper module and lower module which allows individual replacement to support future spectrum or high-order MIMO requirements.

When deploying 5G, operators typically adopt one multi-band passive antenna to unify all sub 3GHz frequency bands and free site space for Massive MIMO. This passive antenna will need modernization to accommodate additional frequency bands or ports when Sub 3GHz gradually evolves to 5G NR. Antenna modernization impacts the time to market for 5G Sub3G NR as operators need to undergo site resources evaluation and gain site permission while also increasing their overall investment.

The Blade Antenna offers flexible evolution to meet 5G NR requirements. Firstly, it enables the rapid introduction of new spectrum. Both the upper module and lower module of the Blade Antenna can be replaced to support new frequency bands while the whole antenna remains as “one box”, avoiding the need to increase antenna footprint while shortening site permission lead times.

Secondly, the Blade Antenna enables a smooth upgrade to high-order MIMO. The two modules of Blade Antenna can be replaced independently to support high-order MIMO. For example, if the network evolves from 1.8~2.1GHz NR 4T4R to NR 8T8R, only the lower module needs to be replaced, this enables fast capacity expansion and antenna investment is protected by the reuse of the upper module.

“We have a deep understanding of customers’ challenges and their requirements for simplified 5G site deployment,” said Zhang Jiayi, President of Huawei Antenna Business unit, “We continuously invest and innovate to develop the most competitive product to help customers accelerate 5G network deployment to achieve business success in 5G era."

The 10th Global Mobile Broadband Forum, hosted by Huawei, with support from industry partners GSMA and GTI, is to be held in Zurich, Switzerland, on October 15th and 16th, 2019. This year's conference theme is "5G, Gear Up" and focuses on supporting global cooperation around 5G development and use. It aims to establish an open platform for global mobile network operators, vertical industry leaders, and partners in the ecosystem to explore new ways to promote the industry's sustainable growth. For more information, please visit: www.huawei.com/en/press-events/events/global-mbb-forum-2019/