UMTS radio over fiber link performance analysis based on low‐cost uncooled laser

The performance of an UMTS radio over fiber link based on directly modulated lasers has been experimentally evaluated in terms of the error vector magnitude (EVM). Operational range for standard EVM values (<12%) was achieved in terms of distance and power. Also, the effect of a semiconductor optical amplifier on these signals in mono and multiwavelength was observed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 51: 6–9, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23975