Christine Thropp
A Battelle-developed telecommunications technology has proven its ability to cover 600Mhz to 7Ghz with a single aperture during an ultra-wideband capability demonstration at the Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation’s 5G/XG field test site.
According to a joint statement from Battelle and VT-ARC, Battelle RavenStar antenna technology is a broadband massive multiple-input and multiple-output, digitally steered radio unit with a single array for simultaneously supporting multiple protocols.
“Battelle RavenStar will allow network operators to future-proof their capital expenditures as their spectrum ownership changes and allow a fast and seamless transition to different standards,” said Matt Vaughan, president of Battelle’s Applied Science and Technology business.
The unit also demonstrated standards-compliant interoperability and 4G and 5G network access.
Battelle plans to further develop the antenna technology by deploying it in the southwest U.S. and collecting data on its performance in another challenging operating environment.
“Unlike other approaches to MIMO and spectrum maximization, our solution innovates at the aperture. In essence, our innovation is in physics, not software,” remarked Doug Thornton, technical director for the RavenStar program.
