Standard RF Cluster Connector for FDD 4T4R to 8T8R Applications

The mobile communication industry has an increasing demand for highly integrated antennas with a large number of RF ports: the introduction of higher MIMO orders (8×8 configurations) and beamforming for FDD is an efficient way of sending signals in specific directions to improve throughput and reliability. Nonetheless, antenna size is a critical factor in network deployment, which limits the number of connectors in antennas. Cluster connectors aim to solve this problem, through integrating several RF ports into single connectors. This publication – the third in a series – focuses on RF cluster connectors for FDD 4T4R to 8T8R applications operating in frequency bands below 3 GHz. Industry requirements for the connectors are identified and a test plan is defined. Parties can use the test plan to determine whether candidate cluster connectors fulfil the requirements. Previous publications in this series looked at 5G TDD @ 3.5 GHz (phase 1) and port naming conventions for MQ4 / MQ5 connectors addressing TDD 8T8R passive antennas and radios (for 4G and 5G NR) (phase 2).