With very low signal loss allowing for connections of several kilometres without the need for amplification, RF over fibre (RFoF) is an ideal solution for government and defence buildings or in Distributed Antenna System (DAS) applications, and subway/underground environments. Ideal for multiple base stations and limited roof space for GPS antennas, RFoF allows the possibility of using one antenna with the signal converted to light and then optically split to multiple locations.

GNSS driven network time servers also require an accurate time signal.  If the location of a time server is not near a building roof or no copper is allowed into the building, RFoF is an ideal solution for the GNSS connection.  RFoF is not distance-limited like traditional copper coax cable and is ideal when there are multiple time servers in different locations/floors where it can be split across multiple floors.

The benefits of RF over Fibre

• Very low signal loss (less than 0.5dB/km) allowing for connections of several kilometres without the need for amplification
• Flat frequency response across the entire frequency band, meaning there is no need for slope compensation
• Immunity to EMI and RFI due to fibre being a non-conductive medium
• Security against signal interception
• Flexible and lightweight for ease of deployment
• Low maintenance – install and forget technology
• Simple installation