9500 Microwave Cross-Connect (MXC)

Photo Credit: Mike Allison, U.S. Army

The rapid growth in multimedia traffic represents a critical backhaul challenge for the U.S. Federal Government. Users are expanding their demands beyond basic voice and data services like instant messaging and email; they want more delay-sensitive applications, such as media streaming and real-time voice, video and data.

The growing demand for new broadband services requires more connectivity and additional ports at sites. Packet traffic growth drives higher bandwidth requirements (20 Mb/s to 30 Mb/s per site); it also has different capacity and quality constraints than voice traffic. As network infrastructure evolves, IP-native stations will have Ethernet interfaces rather than T1. This change in physical interface brings new challenges to backhaul networks. Seeing as the transition will not happen overnight, the U.S. Federal Government must migrate its backhaul networks gracefully while supporting a mixed payload of legacy Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and increasing packet traffic.

9500 MXC Features and Benefits

The 9500 Microwave Cross-Connect (MXC) is a flexible, multiservice wireless transport platform for medium- to high-capacity mixed traffic. Offering a new generation of digital, point-to-point microwave radio capabilities, the 9500 MXC provides an effective way to meet the growing demand for high-capacity applications.

A flexible platform, the 9500 MXC supports PDH, SDH/SONET, Ethernet interfaces and node configuration. The product provides an effective solution for high capacity applications. Microwave solutions for high-capacity applications are particularly important with the introduction of UMTS and HSDPA in mobile networks, due to the renewal of television networks with the launch of DVB-T and DVB-H, as well as the popularity of general broadband networks.

The 9500 MXC is a complete, homogeneous and highly reliable series from 6 to 38 GHz. While its unique network management solutions serve both small and large networks, its compact design enables easy installation and ensures that maximum commonality is achieved across frequencies and capacities.

The compact 9500 MXC supports SDH/SONET and “super PDH” applications with higher flexibility afforded by its integrated cross-connection capabilities. It can also support fixed applications such as DSL and WiMAX backhauling as a result of its multiple interfaces, including PDH, SDH and Ethernet with integrated Layer-2 switching. The 9500 MXC is a reliable, complete, homogeneous series, from 6 GHz to 38 GHz. Its unique network management capabilities serve both small and large networks, and its compact design enables easy installation while ensuring that maximum commonality is achieved across frequencies and capacities.

9500 MXC benefits include:

• Spectrum efficiency to support increasing broadband traffic
• High reliability
• Reduced costs – with a modular design and cost-optimized IDUs for SDH and Ethernet applications
• Easy installation and reduced cabling
• Enhanced customer satisfaction with QoS management