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Satellite has been thought of as thechoice of last resort for connecting cellsites to the core network. The highrecurring cost of satellite bandwidth,along with the ever-growing demand formore and more bandwidth, has keptnetwork planners away fromconsidering satellite backhaul as aviable option.

Mobile network operators (MNOs)have market opportunities, and in manycases, face legal requirements, toprovide nationwide coverage. UniversalService Obligations (which are part ofthe MNO’s license grant) require theMNO to provide mobile service todistant, sparsely populated commun-

ities. Such deployments can bechallenging because of the lack of anytelecom or power infrastructure tosuppor t the cell site equipment.Fur thermore, revenue from suchsparsely populated communities maynot be able to cover the cost of theMNO’s infrastructure (Figure 1). On theother hand, there are many affluentcommunities needing mobile service(such as oil rigs, mining camps, andvacation resorts) who can afford to pay,but are again hampered by their ownunique deployment challenges.

Other proven mobile serviceopportunities include: Cells on wheels(temporary or emergency communic-

ations), commercial aircraft, cruiseships, trains, etc. (Figure 2).

VSATs and mobile backhaul are aperfect matchSatellite technology is a key enabler ofmobile technologies, even in the mostremote areas. Satellite can provideinstant footprint anywhere on Earth. Thetechnology is distance-insensitive andcan backhaul 2G, 3G, 4G, WiFi, andother mobile technologies.Conventional satellites with their widerfootprint are a good fit for 2G backhaul,catering to 100’s of kbps of traffic.Emerging high throughput satellites(HTS) can illuminate the same footprint,

Cellular backhaul – the killer app forhigh throughput satellitesThroughout much of the world, the high cost of terrestrial backhaul forms a barrier to providingmobile communications in remote and underserved communities. However, with the latestgeneration of high throughput satellites (HTS) providing more capabilities at reasonable prices,the options for telecoms providers are growing. Vinay Patel, Senior Director in the InternationalNetworks Products Division of Hughes Network Systems, outlines how the new HTS andaccompanying terrestrial technology can provide affordable satellite cellular backhaul to more ofthe world than ever before.

Figure 1. Cellular backhaul over satellite creates opportunities for providers to extend service to remote areas, which is oftenrequired by their governments and can also open up untapped high-value markets.

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but with the ability to drop tens of Mbpscapacity for 3G and 4G base stations(Figure 3). HTS capacity can even openup suburban and urban markets formobile backhaul – for instance to fillspecific coverage voids or alongroadways or waterways.

As mobile technology has evolved,the traffic profile has shifted toeffectively all data. Social media, videostreaming, web browsing, and filesharing dominate the traffic through theinternet. More and more of this traffic iscarried on mobile networks, which haveto be engineered differently than thelegacy voice networks. In fact, 3G and4G traffic is mostly web dominated andasymmetric in nature.

Vinay Patel, Senior Director in theInternational Networks Products Divisionof Hughes Network Systems

Satellite is ideally suited to carryasymmetric data. The forward directioncan carry 100’s of Mbps, multi-castedto the VSAT terminals, while the trafficin the reverse direction can share trafficon common channels.

For heavy traffic sites, the VSATscan even support ‘nailed-up’ channelsso that the capacity is availableexclusively to the VSAT. The bottom line

– VSATs and mobile backhaul are aperfect match.

As illustrated, 3G started the rushto offer higher and higher speeds formobile users. As mobile apps took off(Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, Skype,and so on), the demand for higher andhigher speed became insatiable. HTS,able to carry 100s of Mbps of capacityin every beam, offers the ability tosatisfy the hunger for mobile speed.Satellite is no longer a choke point forhigh-speed mobile backhaul. And withthe order of magnitude increase insatellite capacity, but at almost noincremental cost of the spacecraft, thecost per bit of HTS service is muchlower, eliminating any hurdles for usingsatellite for mobile backhaul.

Bringing people togetherSatellite backhaul is a natural fit formobile backhaul. The technology givesinstant connectivity anywhere in theworld, while the capacity constraint isremoved with the advent of HTS. Mobileusers can be brought online in a matterof hours and be a part of the globalcommunity, and mobile operators neednot be constrained in expanding theircoverage footpr ints. Let satell itecommunications bring more and morepeople together.

Figure 2. Oil rig crews are among the high-value communities that providers can reachwith mobile services through cellular backhaul. Cruise ships, commercial aircraft,trains and remote resorts are among the others.

Figure 3. Conventional and High-Throughput Satellite service combine broad coverage(conventional) with high-bandwidth (HTS).

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