New Benetel 7.2x 5G OpenRAN RU Addresses Growing Private & Public Network Opportunities

Dublin, Ireland – OpenRAN hardware specialist Benetel has expanded its range of radio units (RUs), through the introduction of the RAN650. This latest RU is intended to bring 5G capacity to private, campus and industrial networks, as well as rural networks and public hotspots. A 4T4R antenna arrangement is featured with up to 5W of output power being delivered per antenna port (equating to 20W in total). The 7.2x functional split employed will help minimize the costs associated with fronthaul network implementations, while support for 100MHz of instantaneous bandwidth will allow maximum coverage to be attained.

Benetel’s new RAN650 RU can be deployed in either a Cat A or Cat B based configuration (using selected distributed units), thereby providing flexibility to address radio access network architectures. Key to its elevated performance and versatility is the cutting-edge semiconductor technology that has been designed into it. Each RU incorporates an Intel Arria 10 FPGA along with an Analog Devices’ ADRV9029 4T4R transceiver with integrated Digital Pre-Distortion (DPD). The initial version of the RAN650 covers the n77u (3.7GHz to 4.2GHz) frequency range. An n78 variant (3.3GHz to 3.8GHz) will be made available in the second quarter of 2022.

As Benetel CEO, Adrian O’Connor explains; “We are now expanding our OpenRAN portfolio with the RAN650, which can address a broad array of different 5G use cases. Our partners have been welcoming this platform already at early trials, making the RAN650 Benetel’s most important product launch to date.”

“Over the years, Analog Devices and Benetel have forged a mutually beneficial working relationship, with our leading RF technology playing a pivotal role in their RU designs,” adds Joe Barry, VP of Wireless Communications at Analog Devices. “Our involvement in Benetel’s development of the next generation RAN650 model extends this longstanding relationship further.”

“Benetel’s new RAN550 and RAN650 series of indoor & outdoor 4T4R radio solutions are enabled by the inherent versatility of Intel Arria 10 SoC FPGAs,” states Mike Fitton, VP of the Programmable Solutions Group at Intel. “We are pleased to expand our relationship with Benetel’s RAN650 to meet customers’ needs.”

The RAN650 RU runs off a 48V supply. It has a maximum power consumption of 110W. The robust IP65-rated enclosure use means that even the most challenging of outdoor conditions can be coped with. An operational temperature range spanning from -33°C to +45°C is supported.

The RAN650 complements Benetel’s existing OpenRAN portfolio, including the RAN550 indoor 5G RU that the company announced back in late 2020. Active network trials are already being conducted on the Benetel RAN650 by several pilot customers.