FRTek Enters OEM Partnership with Movandi to Deliver Flexible 5G Smart Repeaters

March 03, 2022

News

FRTek announced that it has entered an OEM partnership with Movandi providing semiconductors and antenna modules for FRTek PrimAer’s smart repeaters in the 24/26 GHz (n258), 28 GHz (n257/n261) and 39 GHz (n260) spectrum bands.

FRTek PrimAer smart repeaters with patented fiber cascading capabilities are being deployed today with global tier one 5G service providers including Verizon to deliver 5G mmWave coverage.

Widespread deployment of FRTek PrimAer repeaters will extend 5G mmWave coverage to a broad range of customers who need reliable, high-speed internet access and 5G mobile service. FRTek PrimAer repeaters are designed to amplify 5G mmWave signals derived from nearby base stations and retransmit them to underserved areas. High-density areas, indoors or outdoors, especially those with multi-story buildings, stadiums, and shopping environments, will benefit from increased deployment of FRTek repeaters.

The new FRTek PrimAer smart repeater portfolio are field proven and now support all global markets and licensed spectrum bands. The FRTek PrimAer repeaters use phased array modules including Movandi beamformers, up/down converters, PLL synthesizers, phased array antennas, algorithms, and software to bring the 5G high bandwidth and low latency vision to life.

FRTek’s PrimAer smart repeaters are 3GPP compliant and offer capabilities that reduce service provider deployment costs and time, while enhancing range and coverage for outdoor, indoor and outdoor-to-indoor applications such as urban densification, fixed wireless access, venue/campus coverage, office and residential indoor coverage, and private networking. 

Highlights include:

• Patented fiber connectivity and cascading allows up to four smart repeaters to be daisy chained up to 600 meters apart providing great deployment flexibility. See video for details.
• Cascading capability allows one donor unit to support multiple server units connected via fiber or over-the-air (OTA) enhancing deployment flexibility and enabling mmWave to be directed around obstacles.
• Movandi BeamXR software defined beam networking (SDBN) enables remotely programmed beam forming and steering allowing continuous coverage optimization and reducing OPEX.
• Donor units automatically find the best server, decodes the SSB, synchronizes TDD, and supports 38 dBm per polarization at 64 QAM with 45-degree azimuth and 45-degree elevation scan angles.
• Single server units can support multiple beam patterns from narrow to wide beams depending on coverage objectives with 38 dBm per polarization at 64 QAM and programmable angle coverage of 30-degree azimuth and 15-degree elevation
• Internal LTE modem enables remote operations and maintenance.

Independent studies by Mobile Experts LLC, a analyst firm, have shown that smart repeaters can cut mmWave costs and deployment time in half solving the twin deployment problems of capital cost and time to market. Click here for the white paper.

For more information, visit frtek.com and movandi.com