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5G • 5G-Advanced (Rel-18)

mmWave Urban Shadow Bending

Cost-Effective FR2 Street Corner Coverage Extension

Bends high-frequency 28 GHz and 39 GHz millimeter wave signals around street corners and concrete structures at 20% the cost of deploying small cells.

Technical Explanation

Millimeter wave signals cannot penetrate brick walls or bend around street corners, creating severe urban coverage shadows. Deploying full fiber-connected small cells at every street corner is economically prohibitive. Rel-18 NCRs act as smart RF mirrors mounted on light poles, capturing macro mmWave beams and redirecting them down shadowed avenues with zero fiber backhaul costs.

Key Functions

  • Bends millimeter wave signals around urban concrete buildings and street corners
  • Eliminates expensive fiber-optic backhaul and complex baseband site acquisition costs
  • Mounts unobtrusively on city street lamp-posts and utility poles with standard AC/solar power
  • Extends high-speed gigabit 5G-Advanced coverage across dense urban downtown grids
Specifications
3GPP TR 38.867, TS 38.300 (Rel-18)
Interfaces
FR2 Radio Interface
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