Streakwave Blog

Streamline 60 GHz Deployments with RF elements® Horn Antennas

Written by Streakwave | Mar 22, 2026 2:30:00 PM

This blog post has been provided by Juraj Taptic, RF Elements Co-Founder and CEO

Smarter Mounting. Cleaner Layout. Better Use of Tower Space.

60 GHz AP radios are increasingly used to deliver high-capacity access and backhaul in dense urban and suburban environments. However, deploying 60 GHz alongside 5 GHz or 6 GHz infrastructure can create mounting challenges and inefficient tower layouts.

RF elements® Horn Antennas - combined with the BR-WG2 Smart Brackets - provide a practical and space-efficient solution.

The Deployment Challenge

In real-world WISP deployments, operators often need to deliver a mix of contradictory tasks. They need to deploy a 60 GHz radio such as Wave AP Gen2 and maintain a 5 GHz failover sector, while preserving vertical tower space and keeping installation clean and mechanically stable.

Traditionally, this requires separate mounting arms, additional brackets, and increased tower congestion and load. The result often includes higher installation time, reduced structural efficiency via added unnecessary stand-offs and arms, increased wind load and less flexibility for future expansion.

The Solution: Horn Antenna as Structural Platform

RF elements Asymmetrical Horn Antennas feature a rigid structural aluminum ring, providing more than just mechanical rigidity - they can serve as a mounting backbone for other devices.

With the BR-WG2 Smart Bracket, a 60 GHz UI Wave AP Gen2 radio can be mounted directly onto the Horn antenna structure.

This creates:

  • Horizontal integration of 60 GHz and 5/6 GHz Equipment
  • Shared azimuth and elevation alignment
  • Reduced vertical stacking
  • Cleaner mechanical layout

Key Deployment Scenarios

Scenario A:. 60 GHz AP + 5 GHz Failover (Most Common Scenario)

Using a 90° Asymmetrical Horn (e.g., AH90WB or AH90-TP):

  • The Horn serves as a 5 GHz failover sector
  • The 60 GHz Wave AP Gen2 is mounted using BR-WG2
  • Both units align together in azimuth and elevation

Benefits:

  • Compact and elegant installation
  • Easy coordinated alignment
  • Strong structural support
  • Reduced hardware complexity

This is ideal for dense urban deployments where reliability and redundancy are required.

 

Scenario B: High-Capacity 4×4 Wideband Horn Deployments

When using 4×4 Wideband Horn Antennas, flexibility increases significantly providing overwhelmingly rich options.

With BR-WG2:

  • One side of the Horn can host the 60 GHz radio and 5 GHz 2x2 failover
  • The other 2x2 Horn provides dual carrier 5 GHz, 6 GHz, or wideband 5+6 GHz sector coverage
  • Up to two BR-WG2 brackets can be mounted (one per side)

This enables:

  • Dual-band hybrid deployments
  • Failover + primary configurations
  • Efficient use of structural hardware
  • Multi-radio integration without tower redesign

Scenario C: Horizontal Space Optimization

Vertical tower space is often the limiting factor in high-density sites. BR-WG2 allows horizontal spacing of the 60 GHz radio relative to the horn sector antenna. The 60 GHz AP radio does not have the functional connection to the horn, it uses the Horn as a very effective structural platform.

Advantages:

  • Preserves vertical stacking capacity
  • Reduces wind profile
  • Simplifies structural planning
  • Enables additional sectors on the same pole

For tower owners and site planners, this translates to lower long-term cost and greater scalability.
 

Scenario D: Multi-Device Integration

BR-WG2 is not limited to 60 GHz radios. It can also mount additional radios, sensors, cameras, monitoring devices, IoT equipment, etc. The universal 40 mm tube interface allows flexible integration of third-party equipment.

Mechanical and RF Benefits Combined

RF elements Horn Antennas already provide controlled beam patterns with suppressed side lobes, strong sector isolation and stable wideband performance

Adding BR-WG2 enhances the system by improving structural efficiency, alignment precision, installation speed and preserving long-term flexibility

This is not just an accessory - it is a deployment strategy.

Streamline Your Next 60 GHz Project

As 60 GHz access expands, compact and efficient mounting solutions become increasingly valuable.

Combining RF elements Horn Antennas with BR-WG2 enables clean hybrid 60 GHz + 5/6 GHz deployments with space-efficient tower installations.

If you are planning 60 GHz rollouts, consider not just the radio, but the structural, future-ready strategy behind it.

The list of compatible Antennas includes:

 
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