The airFiber line has come a long way since the first incarnation back in 2012, now expanding beyond 24GHz with 11GHz, 60GHz, 5GHz, 2GHz, 4GHz, 3GHz and more. However, with the complication of different frequencies comes a multitude of minimum and maximum distances that these devices can work at.
Distance recommendations
Product | Minimum distance | Maximum distance |
airFiber 5 and 5U | 10 metres | 100km |
airFiber 2X, 3X, 4X and 5X | 25 metres | 200km |
airFiber 24 and 24HD | 25 metres | AF24 - 13km AF24HD - 20km |
airFiber 11 | 25 metres | 300km |
airFiber 60LR | None provided | 12km |
airFiber 60XR | None provided | 15km |
airFiber 60XG | None provided | 4km |
airFiber 60HD | None provided | 2km |
Rain fade considerations
While the above maximum distances look good on a spec sheet, in the real world some of these are only achievable in lab conditions. For example, in UK weather the airFiber 24HD as a real world range of 8km without dropping the link completely.
The lower the frequency the less rain fade you'll experience.
Rain fade predictions at 24GHz
Distance | 1.25 mm/hr | 5 mm/hr | 25 mm/hr |
1 km | 0.2 dB | 0.7 dB | 4 dB |
2 km | 0.4 dB | 1.4 dB | 8 dB |
3 km | 0.6 dB | 2.1 dB | 12 dB |
4 km | 0.8 dB | 2.8 dB | 16 dB |
5 km | 1 dB | 3.5 dB | 20 dB |
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