"Microwave radio communication uses microwaves to send data to either short haul systems or long haul systems." Read more about Microwave Radio Communication: http://www.ceragon.com

1. The Advantages
and
Disadvantages of
Microwave Radio
Communication
http://www.ceragon.com

2. Essentially, microwaves are Electromagnetic
waves with frequencies that range from
approximately 500 MHz to 300 GHz or more.
They are in use in a lot of technology from
mobile phones to satellites and home
appliances. A lot of systems rely on microwaves
to transmit data and it is still one of the most
viable technologies for a lot of industries.

3. But in the age of Wifi, 3G and LTE,
why do we still use microwave
radio communication?
Microwave radio communication uses
microwaves to send data to either short
haul systems or long haul systems.

4. Take a look:

5.  Unlike other types of stations, microwave
radio systems do not require a lot of legal
and real estate requirements between
different stations. Other types of stations
need ‘right-of-way’ acquisitions between
them.

6.  Each station only needs a small plot of
land. This is because microwave radio
communication is powerful enough not to
need massive towers that should have
vast tracks of land between them and
other structures in case of an emergency
collapse.

7.  Their high operating frequencies allow
them to store large amounts of
information. This means that it’s very cost
efficient to use microwave radio
communications for a lot of systems for
your business or enterprise.

8.  They only need small antennae.
Microwaves operate at very high
frequencies so they travel much faster
and require only smaller infrastructure to
transmit.

9.  Physical obstacles such as water and high
mountains may interfere with other kinds
of signals. Microwaves travel better
through them since they’re so robust.

10.  Amplifying them is cheaper since they
don’t need a lot of repeaters

11.  Microwave radio communications are
more reliable since they require less
maintenance. This means that it’s
cheaper to keep up a microwave radio
station than any other kind of station.

12. However, before you look
into adhering to this type of
signal for whatever industry
you’re working in, take a
look at its disadvantages as
well:

13.  Receiving the signals that have been
transmitted is more difficult. Since they
move so quickly and can carry a lot of
information, it requires meticulous circuitry
to be able to utilize the benefits of
microwave frequencies.

14.  Measuring techniques are very difficult to
implement with microwave radio
communication. Usually, you have to hear
the reception yourself instead of relying
on data that’s transmitted with the signal.

15.  Most systems that do use microwave frequencies
have to create their own machinery and
electronic arrays since it’s so difficult to design the
circuitry. What usually happens is that businesses
and enterprises end up asking design and
engineering firms to custom make them their own
microwave transmitters and receivers.

16.  Microwaves propagate in a straight line.
Despite being able to travel through many
mediums without compromising the stored
data, they can only do so in one direction.
This means you might have to broadcast
multiple times in several directions if you
really want to propagate a signal. This is why
microwaves in space are hard to capture
and bring so much excitement to scientists.
It’s extremely hard to catch microwaves if
you aren’t waiting to receive the signal in a
straight line from the propagator.

17. If you’re still looking into microwave
radio communications for your needs,
keep in mind that the software used
for controlling these waves needs a
variety of devices to work best. You’d
need multiplexers, filters, amplifiers,
oscillators, frequency multipliers,
couplers, and links.