Broadtech has end-to-end technical experience in the design, build and support of customised technology design.
Air-to-Ground LTE Cellular
A2G networks deliver 4G LTE broadband data up to airborne aircraft from land-based LTE cellular sites transmitting on a dedicated frequency spectrum and using special antennas designed for the A2G band, that transmit ‘upwards’ to inflight aircraft.
In mid 2020 Broadtech partnered up with SKYFIVE (Germany) to explore Air-to-Ground (‘A2G’) interest and opportunities by demonstrating the technology in New Zealand.
Broadtech completed a extensive engineering analysis of this specific frequency spectrum, in all the potential operating and interference environments of this spectrum both on the ground with adjacent (spectrum) operators, and on board commercial and private aircraft. The comprehensive spectrum engineering analysis was submitted as a frequency application to RSM and in December 2020, the frequency spectrum was licensed to Broadtech to operate and perform its A2G flight trials in New Zealand.
Broadtech subsequently integrated and commissioned an A2G LTE trial network in Auckland city in Q1 2021 and commenced live flight trials with participating aircraft.
Digital Microwave Radio
Broadtech engineers have designed many wireless terrestrial linking systems throughout New Zealand and overseas in Australia and the Pacific Islands. We specialise in supply and support of SIAE DMR equipment from Italy.
Our most recent DMR supply orders in 2021 include backhaul microwave radios for the Rural Connectivity Group (RCG) cellular deployments in:
- Chatham Islands
- West Coast of South Island
We also provide RCG with remote monitoring of the SIAE Radio equipment from our NOC.
Link Design
Our purpose-built terrain database gives us the ability to analyse and design radio paths between any two points in New Zealand. Radio Link viability can be studied taking into account changes in:
- atmospheric conditions
- rain fade
- multipath effects, and
- unwanted interference
Accounting for all these factors enables us to predict link reliability to a high degree of accuracy. Broadtech know most of the major players in the broadcasting industry, and with our own site management experience, we can often suggest suitable sites for linking solutions, or put you in contact with tower site owners.
Digital Land Mobile Radio (DLMR):
Broadtech supports a couple of DLMR networks in New Zealand that are hosted on our transmission tower sites throughout the country. Broadtech has provided technical engineering support to DLMR operators to investigate and resolve complex interference problems in the past.
Maritime
Broadtech engineers re-allocated all the Coastguard NZ marine frequencies across the country to bring New Zealand into line with International shipping navigation requirements:
- the ship to shore channels were all moved into the channel 80 to 86 group, and
- the ship to ship channels were all moved into the 60-66 group.
Broadtech has also provided technical design and equipment supply and support for Maritime networks and services for government and private agencies in the Pacific
IoT
Broadtech operates a centralised IoT network of data aggregators from its NOC that monitor all network sites alarms and operational status.
Broadtech also host several Sigfox and LoRaWan IoT services on its transmission sites.
Broadtech is seeking for opportunities and applications to work further with IoT’s.
Antenna Systems Design
Many benefits can be obtained from a properly designed antenna system. For example, the transmitted signal can be directed towards the desired population and reduced in other areas. This reduces unwanted interference, maximises spectrum utilisation or can reduce transmit power requirements.
Broadtech has designed hundreds of antenna systems of various complexities, frequencies and powers throughout New Zealand, Samoa and Fiji. A high-profile example is the FM antennas on Sky Tower. We can design systems with third-party antennas, or with antennas designed ‘in house’ by Broadtech.
These graphs show the types of results obtained from our computer modelling : the system’s horizontal radiation pattern (HRP) and the vertical radiation pattern (VRP).
Once a system has been designed and a transmission site selected, we can enter the information obtained from our models into our coverage prediction software to predict the wide area that will be covered by the new antenna in that environment.
Customised Coverage
Broadtech has end-to-end technical experience in the design, build and support of customised coverage solutions.
