[Satellite TODAY 10-12-11] Analyst firm Mobile Experts is predicting massive, five-year growth of up to $1.5 billion in wireless backhaul link demand for mobile communications, which could provide strong potential opportunities for satellite providers.
   The firm’s Oct. 11 report, “Backhaul for Small Cells,” supports mobile operators’ rational to use wireless techniques for connecting small cells to the core network.

   “Our analysis indicates that wireless backhaul will be much more cost-effective than fiber in a widespread deployment of small cells,” Mobile Experts Principal Analyst Jonathan Wells wrote in the report. “We expect that backhaul technology choices will change over time. Initial deployments of small cells must rely heavily on wireless techniques due to lack of fiber availability. Over the longer term, we predict that more than 1.8 million small cell wireless backhaul unit shipments will be issued through 2016.”