Cellular Backhaul: A Huge Opportunity for Satellite

A trade event always gives Satellite Evolution the opportunity to gauge what is happening within our industry and at CommunicAsia last month, the satellite and telecom halls were echoing with the latest trends and developments. This year, a recurring theme was satellite-based cellular backhaul, reinforcing the fact that this is an application that is becoming a mainstay of the satellite industry. The mobile communication revolution has swept the world and nowhere has been untouched by it. The mobile phone has achieved huge success in towns and cities but this ability to communicate via cellular phones is no less sought after in areas where population is less dense and therefore where infrastructure is underdeveloped. In places such as Africa, I have heard stories about people who forego essential services in order to keep hold of their cellular phone. The demand for this type of communication is huge in rural, hard to reach regions. However, it is often simply too expensive to rollout terrestrial equipment to more remote areas and it just not worth the expense for the ARPU it will create. To address this problem and to extend the reach of cellular phones, mobile service providers are finding themselves turning to satellite.

Satellite cellular backhaul has a range of different uses. Its primary use, as we have seen, is in areas that are geographically challenging or remote and where there are no terrestrial links. It can also be used in emergency situations where infrastructure has been damaged or is non-existent. Other uses include on board cruise ships, industrial vessels and other forms of transport, on oil rigs and at sporting and other types of events that require a provisional communications service. The solutions provided are numerous and primarily support voice, data and narrowband communications.

At present, GSM represents the vast majority of cellular traffic and is responsible for around 80 per cent with CDMA in second place with 14 per cent and TDMA at 6 per cent. Satellite has become the de-facto standard in order to meet the huge demand for the GSM mobile service. It provides the mobile operator and the consumer with a range of benefits. The user can roam further a-field and know that their mobile telephone will work in more remote areas. It expands the market opportunity into areas that were previously unserviceable. It also helps meet targets set by governments in terms of their Universal Service Obligations (USO) that promotes access to communications technology for all.

Cellular backhaul technology opens up a huge market for network operators who can capitalise on the vast numbers of population in rural regions of the world, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Both Africa and Asia are the top two growth regions for satellite backhaul. Mobile banking especially is a popular application, giving people who would not normally have easy access to a banking facility the opportunity to become financially independent. Internet services provided by 3G phones also give access to a plethora of information that is helpful in daily life.

We are living in difficult times and we are all too aware of the global financial problems. However, the satellite industry is providing an invaluable service through cellular backhaul that will no doubt help add to its resilience in the face of the current problems.

VSAT weathers economic storm
The Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies (GaAs) service report, “GaAs Device Opportunities from the Satcom/VSAT Market: 2008-2013,” concludes that long design cycles and pent-up demand driven by the consumer sector will allow the VSAT (very small aperture terminals) market to weather the current economic storm better than most communications markets, translating into steady demand for GaAs (gallium arsenide) devices...

TeleCommunication Systems enters rights agreement
TeleCommunication Systems announced that, as part of its MO to HTTP patent portfolio licensing program, it and Cellit, LLC of Chicago, Illinois have reached an agreement with respect to TCS's United States Patent Numbers 6,891,811 ("Short Messaging Service Center Mobile-Originated to HTTP Internet Communications") and 7,355,990 ("Mobile-Originated to HTTP Internet Communications") by which Cellit can use its current system to provide its messaging services to its customers. The terms of the agreement are confidential...

SeaMobile and MTN Satellite Services names Jeanne Prayther Chief Financial Officer
Previous to her appointment as CFO, Prayther has served as the company’s Chief Accounting Officer. SeaMobile has become an industry leader in mobile satellite services offered through its MTN Satellite Services subsidiary. The company is privately held and is backed by a number of highly regarded investors, including Ignition Partners, Chart Capital Partners and Steelpoint Capital Partners...

Opportunities beyond Quad Play depend on successful cross industry alliances
Many telecom companies are shifting away from traditional communications access providers and targeting the needs of a digitalized society. To this end, they have started looking for ways to not only offer Quadruple Play or Quad Play services that include fixed telephony, fixed broadband, TV and mobile communication services but also to enable end users to perform their daily social and business activities...

CRTC measures to support over-the-air broadcasters will come at higher cost to cable and satellite customers
Following the release earlier today of public notices by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Cogeco Cable Inc. is deeply concerned with the federal broadcasting regulator's decision to impose substantial and growing cross-subsidies for the benefit of Canadian over-the-air (OTA) television broadcasters through a number of parallel regulatory measures...

What did the Top Executives say at CommunicAsia 2009? now!