Spectronite at MWC 2025: Reinventing Wireless Backhaul for the 5G Era

Solving the 5G Backhaul Bottleneck with a New Approach 

As mobile operators transitioned from 4G to 5G, one of the biggest deployment challenges was backhaul capacity. “Fiber is a great way to drive capacity down to the last mile, but there are plenty of geographies and plenty of use cases where there is no fiber at all and will not be for a very long time,” Fournier explained. This issue was particularly prevalent in rural and remote areas, making wireless backhaul essential. 

However, traditional wireless backhaul technology had become outdated. Spectronite aimed to change that by introducing a new generation of microwave backhaul radios designed for 5G speeds. 

A Software-Defined Revolution in Wireless Backhaul 

To bring this vision to life, Spectronite started from scratch. Traditional solutions had been hardware-dominant, but Spectronite shifted to a more software-driven model. Traditional microwave systems rely 80% on hardware, making them rigid, costly, and difficult to upgrade. 

The company’s real-time embedded software optimized wireless transmission beyond existing 5G base stations, implementing transmission technologies that were newer and more advanced than what was used in 5G base stations.  

“We’ve completely restructured the hardware, rethinking how it’s built, filtered, and integrated with software. Traditional backhaul systems rely on hardware for more than 80% of their functionality—the logic of the product is essentially locked into physical components. In contrast, we’ve moved to a more flexible hardware platform that runs our advanced software, allowing us to enhance performance through software updates. In fact, our transmission technologies are even more advanced than those used in 5G base stations, making our solution truly state-of-the-art.” 

– Jean-Philippe Fournier, CEO, Spectronite  

Balancing Innovation with Environmental Efficiency 

Beyond capacity and speed, Spectronite also focused on environmental impact. “Changing the architecture allowed us to reduce the amount of hardware operators needed to deploy on towers,” Fournier stated. Traditionally, increasing network capacity meant adding more hardware, increasing weight and wind load on towers. Spectronite’s compact hardware, combined with software-driven channel aggregation, significantly reduced the hardware footprint and operational costs. 

Spectronite also contributed to industry standardization as an NC member, actively pushing for more efficient, resource-conscious solutions. 

Unprecedented Efficiency: 98% Spectrum Utilization and 20x Capacity Boost 

One of Spectronite’s key achievements was reaching 98% spectrum utilization and delivering a 20x capacity boost. The company generated up to 32 channels at once with a single full outdoor unit, a significant leap in microwave technology. Its transmission waveform allowed for near-total channel usage, dramatically improving efficiency and capacity. 

Virtualized Spectrum Management 

As networks became more complex, AI-powered network optimization and backhaul visualization became essential tools. “A large part of our value lies in our software,” Fournier remarked. “We can dynamically control the spectrum via software, enabling operators to switch channels on and off as needed. This is a major breakthrough in virtualized spectrum management.” 

While virtualization had already transformed base stations, Spectronite extended this concept to microwave backhaul, leading the shift in modernizing this critical infrastructure component. 

Redefining Network Performance with Digital Carrier Aggregation 

Spectronite’s innovation stemmed from the need to optimize existing infrastructure. A few years ago, while working in the microwave sector, Fournier realized that the traditional hardware-based approach to channel aggregation was highly inefficient. Instead of following conventional methods, Spectronite developed a software-defined architecture that maximized performance and future-proofed network infrastructure. 

With its groundbreaking wireless backhaul technology, Spectronite addressed one of the most pressing challenges in 5G deployment. By combining advanced hardware design with software-driven intelligence, the company paved the way for faster, more efficient, and more sustainable network solutions. As MWC 2025 showcased the future of connectivity, Spectronite stood at the forefront, driving the evolution of wireless infrastructure.