Kenyan operator Safaricom has selected Aviat Networks' WTM 4800 multi-band radio platform for 5G backhaul. Aviat multi-band provides the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) for 5G backhaul, especially in countries like Kenya, where the cost of microwave spectrum is high. Multi-band combines traditional microwave (6-42 GHz) and E-band (70-80 GHz) over the same link and same antenna.
Multi-band lowers spectrum costs by offloading traffic from microwave spectrum onto less expensive E-band spectrum, while maintaining the reliability of microwave. Aviat's WTM 4800 is the industry's first and only single box multi-band system on the market and is much simpler than alternative systemss that rely on two, three and even four separate boxes. This WTM 4800 multi-band network deployment was facilitated by the cloud-based path tool Aviat Design, which allows microwave planners to see an integrated view of availability and capacity for the complete multi-band link.
