Fiber route design for wireless backhaul and fiber-to-the-curb deployments — aerial and underground, with splice planning, conduit routing, latency-compliant fronthaul design, and hub location engineering. All 50 U.S. states. MBE-certified.
Every wireless site — small cell, macro tower, or fixed wireless access point — requires a fiber connection to the carrier network. That connection is the backhaul, and designing it is outside plant engineering work. It involves route planning, aerial or underground construction specifications, splice design, conduit sizing, handhole placement, and ROW permitting for every segment of the route. At program scale, the backhaul fiber design workload is substantial and often runs on the critical path of deployment timelines.
Wireless backhaul design has two distinct sub-disciplines: fronthaul and backhaul. Fronthaul refers to the fiber between the radio unit (RRU) and the baseband equipment (BBU) — a short, latency-critical connection with strict specifications under CPRI and eCPRI standards. Sub-100 microsecond one-way delay requirements limit the fiber distance, splice count, and connector losses allowable in the route. Backhaul refers to the longer connection from the baseband or aggregation hub back to the carrier's core network, where bandwidth capacity rather than latency is the primary design constraint. Draftech designs both under the same project management structure as the wireless site engineering — one package, one team.
Fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) is the infrastructure architecture that makes high-density wireless backhaul practical in urban environments. Rather than running individual fiber routes from each small cell back to a distant hub, FTTC routes aggregation fiber to street-level distribution points — curb-mounted enclosures, below-grade handholes, or above-grade cabinets — from which short runs connect to nearby small cell nodes. Draftech designs FTTC distribution networks including the hub site, the feeder route, the distribution hand hole system, and the final fiber drops to each node.
Draftech's wireless backhaul design scope covers the full range of OSP deliverables required for construction and permitting — from initial route analysis through permit-ready construction packages and as-built documentation.
Aerial and underground route option analysis, hub or aggregation point location selection, fiber path optimization across candidate routes, and ROW feasibility assessment before detailed design begins.
Latency-compliant fronthaul route design for CPRI and eCPRI specifications, splice count minimization, connector loss budgeting, and redundant path planning for high-availability requirements.
Aerial backhaul route design on existing utility infrastructure — span calculations, lashing specifications, pole attachment applications, and make-ready coordination for aerial strand attachment.
Underground conduit system design including bore and trench specifications, innerduct sizing, handhole placement, pull box locations, and traffic control plan coordination for urban backhaul routes.
Full splice plan and fiber assignment documentation — splice point locations, fiber pair assignments by tenant or service, splice enclosure specifications, and OTDR testing specifications for construction acceptance.
Complete AutoCAD construction drawing set formatted to municipality and utility ROW standards, permit applications, equipment layout drawings, and as-built documentation after construction completion.
The coordination problem in wireless deployments is well-documented: wireless engineering firms handle the site, and fiber design firms handle the backhaul, and the two packages are reconciled at the end. By that point, the wireless site design has committed to attachment locations, pole IDs, and conduit entry points that the backhaul designer didn't know when they started their route. Revision cycles between the two firms add weeks to the schedule on every site where the packages don't align on first delivery.
Draftech's OSP engineering foundation — 44,000+ miles of fiber designed across all 50 U.S. states — means we start wireless backhaul design with the same project information the wireless site engineer is using. The pole attachment status, the conduit entry point, the slack loop location, the handhole placement — these are all coordinated within a single design package. Construction crews receive one set of drawings, not two packages stapled together.
Fronthaul Latency: CPRI fronthaul specifications require less than 100 microseconds one-way delay, which at fiber propagation speed limits effective distance to approximately 10 km for the strictest implementations. eCPRI relaxes this constraint, but route design still requires latency budgeting against the specific RAN architecture in use. Draftech's fronthaul design includes latency calculations as a standard deliverable.
AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and regional carriers requiring backhaul fiber design integrated with small cell and macro site engineering programs. Single-vendor delivery for wireless site and fiber connectivity.
Crown Castle, American Tower, SBA Communications, and independent owners requiring backhaul fiber design for new tower sites, equipment upgrades, and small cell infrastructure builds.
Fixed wireless and fiber ISPs requiring backhaul design for tower-fed distribution networks, FWA access point connectivity, and BEAD-funded rural broadband infrastructure.
Shared-infrastructure operators requiring backhaul fiber designed for multi-carrier tenancy with sufficient fiber count and splice architecture to accommodate multiple active parties.
Fronthaul fiber connects small cell radio units (RRUs) to their baseband equipment (BBU) or centralized RAN processing. Backhaul connects the baseband equipment or aggregation hub back to the carrier core network. Both are outside plant fiber engineering disciplines. Fronthaul has strict latency requirements — CPRI fronthaul requires sub-100 microsecond one-way delay, which limits the fiber distance and splice count allowable in the route. Backhaul has more flexibility on latency but requires higher bandwidth capacity at hub aggregation points.
Yes. Route selection between aerial strand, underground conduit, or hybrid routing is a design decision made based on existing infrastructure, permitting requirements, cost, and timeline. Draftech's OSP background covers all three — aerial attachment surveys, underground conduit system design, bore and trench specifications, and hybrid route optimization. We produce complete permit-ready construction packages regardless of route type.
Fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) refers to fiber infrastructure routed to street-level distribution points — aggregation hubs, hand holes, or curb-mounted enclosures — from which the final connection to small cells, FWA access points, or street-level equipment is made. Wireless backhaul fiber is a key application of FTTC infrastructure. Draftech designs the full route from the carrier POP or hub site to the curb-level distribution point, including the hand hole placement, conduit system, and fiber splice plan.
Yes. Shared backhaul infrastructure — where a single fiber route serves multiple carrier tenants or co-location arrangements — requires fiber count planning, splice architecture, and hub design that accommodates multiple active parties. Draftech designs neutral host and shared infrastructure backhaul routes with the fiber capacity and splice architecture to support multi-tenant deployment.
Whether you're designing fronthaul for a 5G densification program, routing backhaul to a new tower site, or building out FTTC infrastructure for a dense small cell deployment, our OSP engineering team is ready. Licensed across all 50 U.S. states. Certified MBE.
Request Backhaul DesignOr email us directly at info@draftech.com — we reply within one business day.
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