Recent advances on millimeterwave PCN system development in Europe-an invited survey

The possibility of apply millimeterwaves for various applications in the commercial arena has a long history, as the technical advantages being offered by such systems have been known for more than 3 decades. Within the last 5 years the necessity of turning their attention away from the military sector towards commercial products has forced more and more companies to look at millimeterwave communications very thoroughly. Having the necessary technology at hand, mature and commercially available, a wide field of employment areas has been opened up, such as: indoor high-speed radio communication systems at 10.6 GHz, as proposed by NTT of Japan; "gateways" for mobile or new, \´deregulated\´ stationary telephone systems at 38 and 55 GHz, being available from Northern Telecom, UK; WLAN\´s at 60 GHz, like the MBS project, under research within the European RACE-programme; and the optic microwave hybrid approach for pico-cellular PCN\´s, as proposed by ALCATEL-SEL of Germany and CNET of France. While the military market is still decreasing, the commercial application of millimeterwaves is ongoing and increasing very rapidly. The actual status and the upcoming technology trends, as they can be seen from Europe, are surveyed.<>