It is clear microwave backhaul is here to stay through the 5G era and even expand its role in reaching more remote areas, as well as some dense urban settings where fiber cannot readily be deployed. Extending microwave backhaul into the E-band (71-86 GHz) has become essential for many operators as the only band currently available commercially with sufficient bandwidth to meet anticipated backhaul demand for 5G Standalone services that may themselves be operating over rather lower millimeter wave frequencies. Such backhaul might connect terrestrial stations, or in remote areas also be used for point-to-point links to non-terrestrial systems such as satellite or high altitude platforms (HAPS). With such objectives in mind, France’s Orange is one operator that has been…