​Today, fiber is still the conventional way of connecting 5G base stations to the rest of network operators' equipment. But if there is no fiber—either because it hasn't been rolled out yet or isn't profitable to do so—radio links transmitting at frequencies between 5 GHz and 60 GHz are used. Startup Spectronite, founded in 2020 in Sophia Antipolis, France, provides innovative backhaul radio solutions. The company is working with CEA-Leti to bring its radios increased spectral efficiency and performance.

CEA-Leti has been conducting 5G R&D for more than a decade, with several EU projects on 5G under its belt. The institute modified and optimized a previously-developed wafeform technology for Spectronite. Algorithms—another area in which CEA-Leti excels—modulate the signal in an optimal way, for 20% greater spectral efficiency. And greater spectral efficiency means more information can be transmitted without the need for more capacity. This allows operators to guarantee service quality at a reasonable cost, even in very dense areas.

Spectronite and the CEA are now working on integrating the technology into one of the company's products by year's end. The startup will then continue to work with CEA-Leti on technologies for 6G.