Airgain launches 5G mmWave beamforming antenna

Airgain, a leading provider of advanced antenna technologies used to enable high performance wireless networking across a broad range of devices and markets, including consumer, enterprise, and automotive, announced the launch of its 5G mmWave beamforming antenna.

The beamforming antenna supports 5G FR2 bands from 24 GHz to 40 GHz and is scalable for rays in up to 64 elements.

The combination of the high propagation loss of the millimeter wavelengths (mmWaves) and high bandwidth demands in 5G NR systems makes beamforming critical for increasing spectral efficiencies and providing cost-effective, reliable 5G coverage.

Airgain’s 5G mmWave beamforming antenna utilizes a flexible reference design supporting both passive and active beamforming architectures. The antenna enables the rapid development of customizable integrated antenna solutions for 5G devices that utilize mmWave frequency bands, including small cells and fixed wireless access gateways, amongst others.

“We have timed the introduction of this antenna to align with the anticipated ramp in the availability of 5G NR baseband chipsets in 2020,” said Kevin Thill, Airgain’s Senior Vice President of Engineering.

“The 5G baseband chipset market is expected to open up in 2020. The introduction of our mmWave beamforming antenna means we are capable of supporting OEM’s rapid integration of 5G NR capable devices.”