Microwave Backhaul Installation

A fixed point-to-point radio link between two sites, carrying network traffic through the air instead of fiber. Distances run from short urban hops (a few hundred feet between rooftops) to long-haul paths of 20 to 30+ miles on lower-frequency licensed bands.

Microwave is how most non-fiber-connected cell sites get their S1 traffic back to the core. It’s also how many WISPs feed distribution towers, how utility SCADA gets teleprotection data between substations, and how public-safety networks aggregate their repeater sites.

Price, build quality, and what the link is designed to carry.

Prosumer PTP (Ubiquiti airFiber, Cambium PTP, Mimosa B-series) runs 1,000 to 5,000 dollars per link. Works great for WISP distribution, small-business P2P, and best-effort traffic. Mostly unlicensed.

Carrier-grade microwave (Aviat WTM, SAF Integra, Siklu EtherHaul, Nokia) runs 10,000 to 60,000+ dollars per link. Built for 99.999% availability, sub-10 ms jitter, adaptive modulation with QPSK fallback, spatial diversity where required. Required for LTE/5G S1, utility teleprotection, and anything with an SLA.

Neither is “better.” They solve different problems at different price points. We’ll tell you which one fits your path and traffic.

S1 (and N2 in 5G) is the signaling and user-plane interface between an eNodeB (base station) and the EPC (or 5GC) core. If that link drops, the cell drops. Operators build their cell sites against 99.999% availability targets (about 5 minutes of downtime per year). That availability isn’t achievable with prosumer gear because prosumer gear isn’t designed for it.

Carrier-grade microwave is designed for it. Adaptive modulation drops to a robust QPSK floor under rain fade rather than dropping the link. Forward error correction, automatic transmit power control, and (on heavy-weather paths) 1+1 hot-standby or spatial diversity keep the link up when the weather gets ugly.

Operators know this. RFPs for LTE and 5G transport backhaul specify carrier-grade equipment by name. We install to those specs.

Depends on what the link is carrying and how much interference risk you can tolerate.

Use unlicensed if your traffic can tolerate occasional degradation, your path is short, and the RF environment is clean. Short WISP hops, business-to-business links, temporary connectivity. Ubiquiti airFiber 5XHD, Mimosa B5, and Cambium PTP 550 all work great here.

Use lightly-licensed E-band (70 / 80 GHz) for short high-capacity gigabit-plus hops where you need protection but don’t need fully coordinated Part 101 licensing. Common for small-cell backhaul and campus networks.

Use fully licensed Part 101 when the link is carrying SLA-grade traffic: LTE/5G S1, utility teleprotection, public-safety transport, or anything with uptime requirements that can’t afford a neighbor WISP jumping on the same unlicensed band next year.

We’ll walk you through which is right for your path during the requirement review.

Real issue. Rain attenuates microwave signal, and attenuation scales hard with frequency:

• 6 to 11 GHz: Minimal rain impact. Long paths practical (20 to 30+ miles).
• 18 GHz: Moderate rain attenuation. Good for metro links (5 to 12 miles).
• 23 GHz: Meaningful rain attenuation. Typical paths 3 to 8 miles.
• 38 to 42 GHz: Significant impact. Short paths, sometimes space diversity needed in wet climates.
• 60 GHz (V-band): Severe rain and oxygen absorption. Very short paths (under 1 mile).
• 70 / 80 GHz (E-band): Severe rain. Short paths but 1+ Gbps capacity.

We model every link against ITU-R P.530 using local rain-rate data (ITU-R P.837) for the actual site coordinates. If the math says the availability target isn’t achievable for the band you want on the path you have, we’ll tell you before the gear ships.

Deep install experience across:

• Aviat Networks: WTM series, CTR, Eclipse. Licensed Part 101 microwave, strong U.S. and Canadian carrier presence.
• SAF Tehnika: Integra family, CFIP, Spectrum Compact alignment gear. Value-grade licensed microwave for WISP and utility work.
• Siklu: EtherHaul 60 / 70 / 80 GHz mmWave. Short-range high-capacity, great for small-cell backhaul and campus.
• Nokia: licensed microwave and Fastmile FWA. Primary partner on CBRS LTE sites via our relationship with The Edge Mile.

Long-term installer relationships with Aviat, SAF Tehnika, and Siklu mean we can give you honest vendor-neutral advice on what fits your job, not a sales pitch.

Physical on-site time:

• Single prosumer PTP link (unlicensed, short path): 1 to 2 days.
• Single carrier-grade licensed link (Part 101): 2 to 5 days install plus 72-hour soak test.
• Ring topology (4 to 8 nodes): 5 to 12 days, plus rotation between sites.

For licensed Part 101 work, add 6 to 12 weeks upfront for FCC coordination and frequency assignment before we can build. We’ll sequence that into your program timeline.

Fixed fee on defined scope, with unit rates and change orders for field conditions. Quoted against band, gear selection, path complexity, and licensing scope. Rough ranges:

• Unlicensed prosumer PTP (5/24 GHz, short path): low-to-mid five figures per link, mostly install labor.
• Lightly licensed E-band (70/80 GHz) short-range link: mid five figures per link.
• Fully licensed Part 101 carrier-grade link: mid-to-upper five figures per link, sometimes six for multi-band or diversity-protected paths.
• Ring topology multi-site: quoted per-node with program-rate discount.

Gear cost (radios, antennas, IDU) is typically a significant fraction of the total on carrier-grade links and a smaller fraction on prosumer. Send us the path and you’ll have a line-itemed quote inside a week.

Send us the two endpoint locations (addresses or coordinates), your traffic requirement (capacity, latency, availability SLA), and your target schedule. If you already know which vendor you want, tell us. If you don’t, we’ll walk you through it.

Request a quote here or call us at (763) 280-6050. Most customers have a quote inside a week.