External LTE antennas have usually been noticed as rather large and not very shapely. The Chinese network supplier Huawei has now for the first time demonstrated a transparent LTE antenna at its Global Mobile Broadband Forum in London, which can be comparatively inconspicuously integrated into a window. The antenna is not ready for market yet, but it is worth taking a first look, especially as the frequency range is also supported by 3.5 GHz planned for 5G.
Of course, Huawei’s antenna is not completely invisible, but it can still be better attached to a pane of glass than the usual black or gray “antenna box”, which is customary with external LTE antennas. At least the antenna should be relatively inconspicuous. The antenna shown at the Global Mobile Broadband Forum and is still 450 x 240 x 0.11 millimeters in size, the final version will be significantly more compact with 300 x 200 x 0.11 mm.
The antenna amplifies a fairly wide frequency spectrum between 1710 and 2690 MHz and thus also covers the frequency bands B1 (2100 MHz), B3 (1800 MHz) and B7 (2600 MHz) used in Europe for UMTS and LTE. The gain is up to 5dBi. In addition, the frequency range between 3.4 GHz and 3.8 GHz is supported. The so-called C-band is regarded as the worldwide base spectrum for the next generation of mobile communications 5G.
When the LTE antenna will be available, what it will cost and whether a market launch is planned in Europe, cannot be know now.