Despite the high penetration of wireless communications globally, talking, texting or emailing outside the primarily urban coverage of most mobile networks is either not possible or comes with unreliable service coverage.
“The primary barrier to expanding coverage has in the past been the high cost of terrestrial backhaul, whether using microwave, fibre or cable technologies,” according to Vinay Patel, senior sales director of Hughes Network Systems.
Speaking at the Hughes’ annual regional seminar alongside the AfricaCom 2014 conference in Cape Town recently, Patel said only satellite provides the reach and flexibility to cost-effectively cover low-density populations virtually anywhere.
“Satellite technology is becoming of particular interest to operators in areas of Africa where both the geography and economy present daunting challenges in justifying expansion of high-quality services,” he said. “By carrying cellular traffic over cost-effective, high performance satellite connections, mobile service providers are now extending their cellular networks to under-served rural and remote areas.”
Designed to support a full range of cellular radio access network (RAN) technologies, Hughes backhaul solutions are based on the company’s HX System platform, providing high-quality links while optimising space segment resource utilisation to minimise operating costs.
“To ensure the success of rural projects, the operator frequently partners with local community leaders to get buy-in and to help protect the equipment from possible theft or vandalism,” says Patel. “They, in turn, encourage residents to participate and use the service, creating a micro-economic climate of entrepreneurship. For example, when a local vendor has produce to sell, he can now use the satellite cellular backhaul service to text availability and pricing to other villages, and to arrange delivery of the produce when a truck is delivering other goods to the village.
“In this way, satellite services can kick-start micro-economic activity and entrepreneurship, which boost social development – not only to make money, but to empower the people to grow the economy of the village. As people become accustomed to the service, they are finding more and more ways to use it, and, as a result, we have seen traffic growing 10-20 percent on a monthly basis.”
A new trend at the heart of the mobile industry is the use of small cells, which are operator-controlled, low-powered radio access nodes. When these small cells are combined with a satellite backhaul solution, they offer enormous potential for providing wireless access to under-served locations at a lower cost.
Ideal not only for rural and difficult-to-reach fixed locations on land, satellite cellular solutions also connect people on-the-move – on airplanes, cruise ships, and trains – and they are ideal for emergency response and special events with cell-on-wheels coverage.
According to Euroconsult’s 2013 report, ‘Prospects for Cellular Backhaul in Fast-Growing Economies,’ cellular backhaul sites are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7,6% over the next 10 years, while 3G will experience double digit growth, and capacity carried over satellite will increase by 16 percent. It’s also anticipated that high-throughput satellites (HTS) will play a significant role in backhauling the capacity growth expected as a result of 3G and 4G/LTE requirements.
“That means more and more mobile operators will adopt satellite backhaul technology to fill the gaps in their networks and reach untapped markets in previously cost-prohibitive locations,” says Patel. “Africa has 21% satellite penetration, against 42% in the rest of the world, so there is huge potential for growth. As the world continues to expect more from cellular technology, satellite backhaul solutions will grow as a key component of a true, high-performance global communications network – connecting people no matter where they live, work or travel.”
