How to Spot Clearwire TDD-LTE / Wimax Antennas & RRUs (Huawei)

[RAvirani]

The only really distinguishing feature I can really see is the what appears to be a microwave antenna of some kind that the Samsung equipment seems to lack. The antennas themselves look to be roughly the same size. I see a lot of these when I'm in Sprint's WiMAX footprint in Cleveland, OH.

While I'm thinking about it, is there a glossary of terms and acronyms somewhere on S4GRU? It took me about a month to figure out that a "RRU" was a remote radio head, and I still have no idea what a GMO is.

Yea I have seen those microwave antenna thingys on huwei equipment too...does anyone have any idea what those actually are?

[Dkoellerwx]

Yea I have seen those microwave antenna thingys on huwei equipment too...does anyone have any idea what those actually are?

A microwave dish....

 

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[RAvirani]

A microwave dish....

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I know - I mean what for?

[Dkoellerwx]

I know - I mean what for?

Backhaul. A great many Clear sites use Microwave for backhaul.

 

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[RAvirani]

Backhaul. A great many Clear sites use Microwave for backhaul.

 

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Oh.  Is Sprint getting better backhaul for the sites converted to B41?

[Dkoellerwx]

Oh. Is Sprint getting better backhaul for the sites converted to B41?

Microwave is perfectly acceptable backhaul in most cases.

 

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[lilotimz]

Microwave is perfectly acceptable backhaul in most cases.

 

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True but not how Clearwire deployed it. 

[S4GRU]

Clearwire set up its microwave backhaul network with the anticipation they would need only 5-15Mbps per sector/channel. The equipment/links themselves each could support a lot more throughput than they did. The big limiter in the Clearwire microwave deployment was the amount of backhaul being supplied at the source point and the number of hops to the terminal end of the chain.

 

By the time you got to the end of a Clearwire daisy chain, you could be 8 hops to the source. That really reduces performance. Especially if they all are sharing one 100-200Mbps connection at the source end. Which blows my mind, as I have 200Mbps at my house now.

 

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[Arysyn]

I didn't think Huawei was a Network Vision partner, or are there markets where there isn't a Network Vision upgrade, but using older Huawei equipment, which since not upgraded as part of NV, won't have CA?

[Dkoellerwx]

I didn't think Huawei was a Network Vision partner, or are there markets where there isn't a Network Vision upgrade, but using older Huawei equipment, which since not upgraded as part of NV, won't have CA?

 

It's not. This is Clearwire equipment we're talking about that was deployed in first wave of WiMax.

[Arysyn]

It's not. This is Clearwire equipment we're talking about that was deployed in first wave of WiMax.

Ah, OK. Does this apply nationwide, or only in certain markets? I'm curious if this is the case on Clear towers in the Chicago Market, or since the Chicago Market has Samsung as the vendor, are the Clear sites using them here or Huawei?

[Dkoellerwx]

Ah, OK. Does this apply nationwide, or only in certain markets? I'm curious if this is the case on Clear towers in the Chicago Market, or since the Chicago Market has Samsung as the vendor, are the Clear sites using them here or Huawei?

 

No, only certain markets. And the WiMax vendor markets do not match up with the Sprint NV vendor markets. Chicago has Samsung dual-mode RRUs, which is why you have already seen the 2nd carrier deployed there on Clear sites.

[RAvirani]

It's not. This is Clearwire equipment we're talking about that was deployed in first wave of WiMax.

Network vision vendors will come and replace these. Right?

[Dkoellerwx]

Network vision vendors will come and replace these. Right?

That's correct.

 

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[RAvirani]

That's correct.

 

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So as of now, CA cannot be deployed in non upgraded areas?

[Dkoellerwx]

So as of now, CA cannot be deployed in non upgraded areas?

 

For those sites that still have all Huawei equipment. Any Sprint sites are good to go. Any sites with the second release of Samsung's RRUs are good to go.

[RAvirani]

For those sites that still have all Huawei equipment. Any Sprint sites are good to go. Any sites with the second release of Samsung's RRUs are good to go.

That's pretty much the whole Seattle area. Samsung hasn't done much on the 2.5 side here

[Dkoellerwx]

That's pretty much the whole Seattle area. Samsung hasn't done much on the 2.5 side here

 

Our premier maps would beg to differ. 

[RAvirani]

Our premier maps would beg to differ.

I've seen them but in most of the areas I'm in, there's still huwei equipment

[S4GRU]

I've seen them but in most of the areas I'm in, there's still huwei equipment

All the Sprint sites with B41 are on Samsung equipment. Hundreds of them in the West Washington market.

 

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[RAvirani]

All the Sprint sites with B41 are on Samsung equipment. Hundreds of them in the West Washington market.

 

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Maybe I'm just rly bad at equipment spotting...ill post a few pictures when I get back from AZ.

[RAvirani]

Our premier maps would beg to differ.

Can you send me the link to these maps and when I have the chance I'll go and check a few sites out

[Dkoellerwx]

Can you send me the link to these maps and when I have the chance I'll go and check a few sites out

 

They're in the premier sub-forum. The thread is even pinned... it's not that hard to find. TD-LTE sites accepted.

[RAvirani]

They're in the premier sub-forum. The thread is even pinned... it's not that hard to find. TD-LTE sites accepted.

I checked the map and there are like 2 sites that are in my area lol

[ttwiitch]

 

The middle section is Sprint?

 

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