Introduction

The ongoing exponential demand for wireless networks

means mobile operators are under constant pressure

to increase capacity. Faced with the prohibitive costs of

building new sites, the preferable solution is to improve

existing ones. This invariably entails working within lim-

ited physical space. At the same time, with the addition

of more antennas and connections, keeping Passive

Intermodulation (PIM) as low as possible is a prerequi-

site. Fit-for-purpose connectors, fully optimized for these

challenging environments, now play an increasingly pivotal

role in ensuring the high-performance transmission of Ra-

dio Frequency (RF) signals between base stations or re-

mote radio heads and antennas.

There has been significant innovation by the RF connec-

tor industry over the past decade. This has resulted in the

introduction of several small form factor connector

solutions, such as the 4.3-10 and more recently the

NEX10

. These have become necessary to support the

entire ecosystem of high-performance 4G/LTE – and

latterly 5G – wireless connectivity requirements, includ-

ing macro cell sites, metro cells and Distributed Antenna

System (DAS) deployments.

They offer a more efficient solution to the long-stand-

ing 7-16 DIN connector launched more than half a cen-

tury ago as today’s and tomorrow’s cellular environments

depend on high-bandwidth, high density RF connections to

provide capacity and low PIM interference.

Moving to Small Form

Factor Connectors

The newer generations of small footprint connectors have on

the one hand typically utilized a radial contact design to im-

prove low coupling torque requirements to facilitate a more

comprehensive and reliable contact in conﬁned spaces. At the

same time, the separation of their mechanical and electrical

planes offers superior PIM characteristics compared to 7-16.

Introduced to the market in 2013, the 4.3-10 connector se-

ries has been one of the most well-known examples, offering

a similar design to the 7-16 connector, but smaller and up

to 40% lighter for accommodating more dense and lighter

weight applications. However, by virtue of its small size and

the innovative radial contact element, there has always been

a susceptibility of the 4.3-10 being subject to mechanical de-

fects. Such as, the male connector not being inserted straight,

or where mating is attempted with the wrong connector.

NEX10

– a Natural

Evolution

In 2018 and following, the combined efforts and collaboration

of three leading RF connector manufacturers —Rosenberger,

HUBER+SUHNER and Radiall – the NEX10

connector was

ofﬁcially released for mass production and the ﬁrst radios with

NEX10

became available. The objective was to develop a

smaller coaxial connector system capable of meeting most

of the existing and future demands of small cell networks for

4G and 5G networks. Since that time, for applications where

space is highly constrained, the NEX10

has become increas-

ingly adopted over the larger 4.3-10 or other interfaces.