Description

Huawei AQU4518R24v18 8-Port 2L2H EasyRET Antenna 690-960/1695-2690 MHz with 4 Integrated RCUs

DXXXX-690-960/690-960/1695-2690/1695-2690- 65/65/65/65-16i/16i/18i/18i-M/M/M/M-R, EasyRET 8-Port 2L2H
Antenna with 4 Integrated RCUs, 8 x 4.3-10 Female, AISG 2.0.

The Huawei AQU4518R24v18 (27014351) is a 2.0 m, quad-band, 8-port 2L2H EasyRET base-station antenna designed for multi-band cellular RAN deployments. It combines two low-band arrays covering 690–960 MHz and two high-band arrays covering 1695–2690 MHz, with four integrated Remote Control Units (RCUs) for independent electrical downtilt control. The antenna uses 8 × 4.3-10 Female RF connectors and supports AISG 2.0/3GPP RET control.

Technical note: The manufacturer documentation should be treated as the authority for final installation, compatibility, ordering and configuration. In particular, RRU/BBU compatibility depends on the deployed radio frequency bands, RF port architecture, duplexing configuration, AISG controller/interface and operator-specific RAN configuration.

1- Technical description Huawei AQU4518R24v18

The AQU4518R24v18 is a high-capacity multiband passive antenna with integrated RET functionality. Its architecture is designated 2L2H, meaning:

• 2 × Low-band arrays: 690–960 MHz
• 2 × High-band arrays: 1695–2690 MHz
• 8 RF ports: four RF paths for the low-band arrays and four RF paths for the high-band arrays
• 4 integrated RCUs: independent remote electrical tilt control for the antenna arrays
• Polarization: +45° / −45°
• RF impedance: 50 Ω
• RF connectors: 8 × 4.3-10 Female
• RET interface: AISG 2.0 / 3GPP
• Antenna height: approximately 2.0 m

The port/array organization is:

The four integrated RET units allow the operator to remotely optimize antenna downtilt without physically accessing the antenna. The documented electrical downtilt range is 0–10° for the 690–960 MHz arrays and 2–12° for the 1695–2690 MHz arrays, independently by band.

2-Specifications and features Huawei AQU4518R24v18

2-1 Electrical properties Huawei AQU4518R24v18

The antenna provides gain from approximately 14.7 to 17.9 dBi, depending on frequency and electrical tilt. Horizontal 3-dB beamwidth varies approximately from 58–68°, while vertical beamwidth is approximately 5.0–10.5°, depending on frequency.

2-2 Frequency-specific performance Huawei AQU4518R24v18

The above values are based on the identified AQU4518R24v18 datasheet information.

2-3 RET / AIMM properties Huawei AQU4518R24v18

The datasheet also indicates that the RET software interface can support protocol switching under specified conditions, with Huawei recommending confirmation of primary-station compatibility before installation.

2-4 Mechanical properties Huawei AQU4518R24v18

The frontal and lateral wind loads are approximately 555 N and 340 N, respectively, at 150 km/h.

3- Strategic applications Huawei AQU4518R24v18

The Huawei AQU4518R24v18  is particularly suitable for multi-band macro-cellular sites where several generations or frequency layers need to be consolidated into one antenna system.

Key applications Huawei AQU4518R24v18

• 2G/3G/4G/5G multi-band macro sites
• Low-band LTE coverage using 700/800/900 MHz spectrum
• LTE/5G capacity layers in approximately 1800/1900/2100/2300/2500/2600 MHz ranges
• RAN modernization and network refarming
• Multi-operator and multi-band site consolidation
• Antenna replacement during network upgrades
• High-density urban macro sites
• Suburban and rural coverage sites
• Tower-load optimization where replacing several antennas with a multiband antenna is advantageous
• Remote electrical tilt optimization through AISG

The 2L2H architecture is particularly valuable when operators need to combine broad low-band coverage with higher-frequency capacity layers while retaining independent RET control.

4-Huawei AQU4518R24v18 Compatible BBU and RRU

Important compatibility principle

The AQU4518R24v18 is an antenna, not a radio unit or BBU. Therefore, it does not have a single fixed BBU/RRU pairing.

RF compatibility is determined by whether the RRU supports the required frequency range and RF interface. RET compatibility additionally requires an appropriate AISG 2.0/3GPP control path.

A typical architecture is:

BBU → CPRI/eCPRI/fronthaul → RRU → RF feeder → AQU4518R24v18

with:

BBU/RAN controller → AISG control interface → integrated RCU/RET

Huawei ecosystem

The antenna can be deployed with Huawei RAN equipment where the selected RRU configuration provides the required:

• 690–960 MHz RF coverage
• 1695–2690 MHz RF coverage
• Required number of RF chains
• 4.3-10 RF connection compatibility or appropriate feeder/adapter arrangement
• AISG/RET control capability
• Required 2G/3G/4G/5G radio technology

Depending on the generation and network design, Huawei BBU/DU and RRU/AAU families can therefore be used, but an exact RRU part-number compatibility matrix should be verified against the operator’s Huawei BOM and the antenna’s RF port mapping.

5- ZTE, Ericsson and Nokia Products

Because the antenna is an RF passive device with standardized 50 Ω RF ports, it can potentially be connected to radios from other major vendors where the radio frequency, RF-chain count, connectorization, power budget and AISG implementation are compatible.

Therefore:

Do not interpret this as a guarantee that every RRU from these vendors is compatible. Exact radio model, frequency variant and operator configuration must be checked before procurement.

6- Accessories Huawei AQU4518R24v18

The identified Huawei documentation specifies the following accessories:

The clamp kit is approximately 4.2 kg, while the mechanical downtilt kit is approximately 2.1 kg.

Additional site hardware—RF jumpers, AISG cables, grounding accessories, feeder cables and tower mounting hardware—should be selected according to the installation design and Huawei’s applicable installation documentation rather than assumed to be included with the antenna.

7- Variant models

The Huawei AQU4518R24v18  family includes several related variants.

For example, the Huawei AQU4518R24v18 uses the same general 690–960 + 1695–2690 MHz architecture but is approximately 2.6 m high and provides higher low-band gain than the R24v18 in the documented configuration.

When ordering, the complete DXXXX configuration string should be checked rather than relying solely on the family model number, because frequency coverage, gain class, electrical tilt and mechanical configuration can differ between variants.

8- Similar products from major market brands

The closest competitive products are multiband 8-port or equivalent 4-array sector antennas with integrated RET, rather than ordinary single-band antennas.

For a procurement-grade comparison, the products should be matched by exact frequency ranges, number of RF ports, gain, beamwidth, RET range, PIM, power handling, wind load, dimensions and weight rather than by the marketing name alone.

Huawei AQU4518R24v18 8-Port 2L2H EasyRET Antenna 690-960-1695-2690 MHz with 4 Integrated RCUs