There is an interesting new twist on wireless backhaul. The Swedish company TERASi has developed a wireless backhaul technology that enables networks to be configured on the fly. The company has developed a small, lightweight, portable microwave radio that can quickly be mounted anywhere on a tripod, a pole, or any object with line-of-sight to a neighboring radio.

The radios use frequencies in the 70 GHz range. They can provide 2 Gbps in bandwidth for up to 5 miles or 10 Gbps for a few miles. Latency is a super-low 5 milliseconds.

The selling point for these portable radios is that they can be installed and configured in minutes. This is due to the small size of 3x3x1 inches. The company says a radio can be mounted on a photography tripod or even on a drone to create a quick wireless link. The small radios are being touted as a solution for quick links in the field for the military or for a quick link any time an ISP needs a quick connection.

The radios are now in beta testing mode, and the company would like to hear from ISPs or local governments that might have a unique use case for radios that can create a quick link.

It’s not hard to imagine numerous uses for a microwave network that can be installed quickly.

• The company is marketing this to the military as an alternative to using Starlink on the battlefield. There have been several times in Ukraine where the Starlink network went down – at least once intentionally, and once recently when Starlink had a worldwide outage. Microwave radios are safe from interference since it’s nearly impossible to intercept the tiny beam between two devices. These radios also have the upside of delivering higher bandwidth than satellite.
• The technology could be a boon for disaster recovery. ISPs and utilities could string together a backhaul network that would allow them to reestablish a quick bandwidth link to substations, cell towers, or powered electronics hubs. The devices could be in place quickly to establish connections for critical first responders. Local governments could use the radios to power public hotspots to give quick connectivity to the public.
• These radios could be an instant patch for damaged networks, particularly in situations where repairs will be slow. These radios could be a quick fix for fiber cuts in places that are hard to fix, like bridges and railroad crossings. The radios could leapfrog landslides, fire, or flooded areas to keep a network functioning.
• Temporary wireless networks make sense for places like construction sites that need bandwidth today, but not permanently.
• Commercial firms might consider this as a quick fix between nearby buildings for emergency redundancy.

The downside is the expense of buying units that might never be used. But the huge upside is having the ability to create a quick broadband connection for emergencies and critical needs.