The growth in high-bandwidth radio services such as WiMAX and LTE has led to a renewed focus on the optimum network infrastructure able to transmit signals between base stations and antennas. The use of optical fiber links to distribute RF signals from a central location to Remote Antenna Units (RAUs) is the basis of RFoF Technology for wireless applications. Enabling remote locating of the base stations via fiber optics, and centralization of RF signal processing functions, enables equipment sharing, dynamic allocation of resources, and simplified system operation and maintenance, which are translated into major system installation and operational savings, especially in wide-coverage broadband wireless communication systems, where a high density of BS is necessary.
Optical Zonu’s RF over Fiber Optics Products are used in various antenna remoting applications. One such prominent use is to transport WiMAX, cellular 3G, 4G and LTE signals over fiber optic cable. These current wireless technologies are operating at frequencies which are less than 6 GHz. Our broadband (30 MHz to 3GHz) and ultra broadband (30 MHz to 6 GHz) RF over Fiber Optics Links are more than capable of handling these types of signals. Linking the Base Station (BS) to single or multiple Remote Antenna Units (RAU) via single mode or multimode optical fibers, allows transmission of Wi-Max and various other cellular signals in native format, without RF signal processing other than amplification. Simple integration, low transmission loss, and cost savings make the use of our RF over Fiber Optics Products the ideal choice.
Transporting RF signals over fiber optic cable has distinct advantages compared to coax cable, particularly for longer distances. Coax cable has a significant amount of signal loss over longer cable runs limiting its application for long distance links. High quality low-loss coax is very bulky and expensive. Coax cable often has a large diameter, making it very inflexible and difficult to manipulate. Optical fiber supports very long cable distances, up to 10 Km or more, with minimal signal loss and degradation. Optical fiber operates by transmitting light along a dielectric glass fiber, rather than electrical signals over copper wires. This provides a highly secure tamper-proof medium for signal transfer, minimizing security risks and unauthorized signal interception concerns. Light is also unaffected by electro-magnetic interference, allowing signals to be transmitted unaffected through electrically noisy environments
Optical Zonu’s broadband RF over Fiber Optics Products are suitable for transporting Wi-Max and signals including GSM, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g, 3G, 4G, and LTE over fiber optic cable. Our products come in various form factors that are suitable for easy integration and field maintenance. We provide long or short distance uplink/downlink solutions that may be achieved using our cost effective RF over Fiber links with isolated Fabry Perot Lasers while professional and more demanding long distance or multi-carrier CWDM applications may be met using our wide dynamic range, regular or cooled DFB Lasers – delivering excellent signal quality under varying conditions.