Reaching Out Via Satellite Backhauling

 

Migration Underway

A migration is underway from static SCPC networks towards more flexible architectures rooted in IP, says Mick Gardina, iDirect’s director of vertical sales. This is due to the fact that cell operators are realizing they can save money by not overestimating bandwidth demand due to the lack of accurate forecasts of traffic levels via dedicated SCPC satellite links. “iDirect’s IP-based solution enables [transceivers] in multiple time zones to be dimensioned over a single network to reflect each regions different usage characteristics,” he says. “This ability insures all real-time bandwidth requirements are met while simultaneously reducing the overall network bandwidth requirements and operating costs.”

Besides sustaining speed and quality, iDirect’s deterministic-TDMA solution consolidates satellite transponder capacity from multiple small pipes carrying dedicated traffic into a single, large pipe carrying IP traffic. “Network operators require management tools that are intuitive, easy to learn and can be understood by a business manager as well as a network engineer,” says Gardina. “By incorporating a native IP platform, iDirect’s GSM backhaul solution allows an initial deployment to be rapidly and transparently upgraded as the market develops, positioning operators to keep pace with the deployment of new technology.”

Simplifying Solutions

Mobile operators need to connect their remote transceiver nodes with regional controllers over a reliable connection while keeping costs in check, says Rick Sanford, director, space and intelligence at Cisco Systems Inc.’s Global Government Solutions group. This is not easy to do when technological advancements, demand for new services and competitive pressures require mobile operators to continuously expand their networks and increase bandwidth capacity at cell sites, thereby driving up operating expenses. “The development of Wi-Fi and the growth of WiMax hotspots will only increase the need for satellite backhaul,” he says. “The wireless market is quickly moving towards an all IP-based architecture, so there will be the opportunity with IP-over-satellite solutions to simplify architectures and solutions through reuse of existing terrestrial wireless technologies for the satellite backhaul market. … The use of IP technologies in transitioning away from channelized services will give greater flexibility for service performance and enhancements as well as growth,” says Sanford.

There are numerous challenges that need to be addressed, says Sanford, including the fact that long procurement and deployment cycles often can conflict with a company’s operational needs and undermine efforts to actualize networks in a timely fashion. “The satellite technology environment traditionally does not have a history of taking innovations quickly to the marketplace,” he says, adding that embedded networks and technology architectures make it difficult to rapidly scale or re-configure pre-existing satellite backhaul infrastructures.

Thailand’s Shin Satellite has been providing backhaul services using its IPStar satellite broadband solution, says Patompob Suwansiri, assistant vice president of IPStar. The new IPStar maXX, a transmission control protocol accelerator which can support up to 100 users through a single terminal, is ideal for IP backhauling, especially hybrid Wi-Fi and WiMax-enabled IP networks, says Suwansiri. Lao Telecom in Laos is using an IPStar IP backbone for a GSM/CDMA backhaul network carrying voice and data traffic for more than 100,000 customers.

“In the areas of mobile telephony, many systems now are now IP-based, thus making the mobile hybrid solution more cost effective,” says Suwansiri. “Hybrid solutions are not technically difficult. The real challenge is to have the right cost structure that will enable a viable business model. It (also) is important that satellite providers have partners on the ground that take care of the implementation and maintenance of the system.”
Cell phones make life easier, and satellite solution providers are demonstrating they can provide an easier and cost-effective pathway to enhanced revenue streams.

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