Cabling for remote radio units

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12 August 2015 Interconnection

Webb Industries has launched in South Africa Eupen’s EucaHybrid cables for fibre and power cabling to the top of remote radio unit (RRU) towers.

By housing all the cables required in a single cable jacket, this solution effectively reduces the number of cables required – something that has become a critical requirement according to Webb’s managing director, Paul Richards. “The traditional solution was to route fibre and power cables separately up to the tower, with often up to 24 individual cables being used,” he explains.

Some of the challenges posed by legacy cabling include the fact that individual cables are generally not sufficiently protected from weather and installation damage; each cable routed up the tower also requires multiple hangers and grounding, which, inter alia, adds to the monthly leasing fees; and the cables usually cannot be re-used after one RRU swap in the case of different fibre termination.

By contrast, EucaHybrid often only requires one cable for an entire multi-sector site, and also exhibits very low bend moment and small bend radius. This allows for easy on-site handling, minimises installation effort and further reduces cost. Additionally, in a few minutes and with common tools, the cables can be trimmed to fit on site and can therefore be purchased with fibre-optic connectors pre-installed and tested at the Eupen factory.

“Understanding the value of using familiar hoisting, mounting and grounding accessories, EucaHybrid cables have been designed to match common coaxial cable sizes and for use with common coax cable accessories,” Richards says.

The solution comes in two basic versions: the 'boxless' version designed for 1 to 3 RRUs, with power and fibre sub-units that are split without the need of a junction box. These sub-units are weather-tight and UV protected, and integrated into one ‘feeder’ cable assembly. They can connect directly to the radio or to jumper cables.

The other variant is a range of EucaHybrid cables that can address from 3 to 9 RRUs with only one hybrid cable split inside a junction box. The connection to the RRUs is ensured by power and fibre jumper cables of different lengths and with different termination possibilities. The cable management of the junction box is designed for easy installation on site; moreover, the box can optionally feature over-voltage protection and/or circuit breakers.

All styles support single- or multi-mode fibre, and feature an outdoor rated PE jacket for excellent environmental and long-term UV protection. Flexible, welded and corrugated aluminium armour protects delicate fibres, while a metallic shield provides lightning protection.

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