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Wireless Access Market Drivers /Trends
Wireless access has completely changed the way we live, work, and play. Everywhere you look, people are using their mobile devices to talk, text, watch videos, and adopt new applications that seem to appear on a daily basis. As the number of people and machines to be wirelessly connected -- both in urban and remote areas -- grows into several billions, mobile operators struggle to provide the best user experience to their customers. Optimum service attributes for mobile operators include coverage anywhere, anytime, HD voice quality, and data throughput to support any application. In rural and remote locations, mobile operators are embracing satellite as the most cost-effective backhaul solution to provide 3G and LTE services.
Over the years, mobile operators have used Single Channel per Carrier (SCPC) or Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)/Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technologies to backhaul sites in remote and rural locations. This article discusses why TDMA-based solutions are becoming the preferred approach by mobile operators for sites backhauled via satellite, particularly as Radio Access Network (RAN) implementations are shifting to 3G where traffic is dominated by Internet data, which is both asymmetric and bursty.
Mobile Operator Growth and Competitive Pressures
In developing markets such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America, mobile operators are facing challenges on different fronts, including low average revenue per subscriber (ARPU) and highly dispersed populations that must be connected. These operators must also make a profit for their shareholders while growing their businesses, by adding new subscribers and/or by cost-effectively providing the best value and user experience to subscribers.
The use of satellite in rural and remote locations makes it possible to deploy cost effective infrastructure with low operating costs. One of the key features of satellite is its ability to provide broad coverage. Whether with the traditional Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) or High Throughput Satellite (HTS), the transponder or beam covers hundreds of miles. With the ability to very rapidly deploy satellite broadband infrastructure in hard-to-reach areas, satellite is the clear choice for interconnecting cellular base stations in rural and hard-to-reach areas.
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