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What Is Microwave Radio Equipment?

The telecommunications industry uses microwave radio equipment to transmit information at much higher frequencies than traditional AM and FM broadcasts use. Since the 1950s, microwave radio has been useful for telephone, data and television links. In recent years, more consumer-oriented services such as satellite radio use microwave frequencies.

Microwave Frequency and Wavelength
- No hard rules define microwaves, although communications engineers generally include radio wavelengths between 187 mm and 10 mm corresponding to the frequency range from 1.6 to 30 GHz. In the electromagnetic spectrum, microwaves lie between the upper end of radio and the longest infrared light waves. Because of their short wavelengths, microwaves travel in relatively straight lines. They are suitable for both land-based and satellite communications.
Telephone and Television
- Telephone companies and broadcast television stations have used networks of microwave equipment to pass communications from one city to the next across geographic regions. The heyday for this practice was between 1950 and 1980; since then, fiber optic networks have taken over the bulk of this activity. Microwave stations are still used where fiber optics are impractical or unavailable. For example, a military unit working in a remote location sets up microwave gear to facilitate telephone and data communications.
Satellite Radio
- Satellite radio services broadcast their programming at microwave frequencies. The Federal Communications Commission granted Sirius XM the use of two microwave bands: 2,332.50 to 2,345.00 MHz for XM and 2,320.00 to 2,332.50 MHz for Sirius. The high frequencies permit high-quality broadcasts using modern digital audio encoding compared to the lower-fidelity analog signals used in traditional FM radio.
Radar
- One of the most recognizable forms of microwave equipment is radio detecting and ranging (radar), a technology first developed for the military that has since filtered into commercial, scientific and law enforcement applications. A radar set consists of a microwave transmitter and receiver; the transmitter produces a burst of radio waves and the receiver picks up echoes of this energy reflected from distant objects. Radar can effectively penetrate fog, snow and rain, providing safer takeoff and landing conditions for aircraft. Doppler radar goes a step further, providing accurate speed information for moving objects such as vehicles and thunderstorms.

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