Satellite Cellular Tech Looking to Take the Reigns from Terrestrial Towers when it Comes to Expanded Coverage

A new report by Frost & Sullivan, Satellite Backhaul of 3G and LTE Radio Access Networks, has shed some light on the best way the industry analyst believes companies can extend their network reach when it comes to 3G/LTE coverage. The firm says that using satellite backhaul is easily the best way to go about reaching areas of the country that are not easily reachable when it comes to terrestrial facilities. These facilities are also quite cost prohibitive when talking about trying to erect towers in areas where there simply isn’t a lot of popular or power sources.

"Satellite backhaul is rapidly growing as a solution for filling in the gaps of a cellular mobile network”, Peter Finalle, senior analyst, Satellite & Mobile Communications at Frost & Sullivan said in a statement that accompanied the study. "As carriers around the world continue to expand their networks and get closer to 100 percent points of presence (POP) coverage, the need to connect remote and difficult locations increases significantly, and the limitations of fiber or other terrestrial solutions such as microwave are already apparent. Frost & Sullivan anticipates satellite will be the technology of choice for bridging these coverage gaps for the foreseeable future."

Frost & Sullivan’s findings are important because RAN costs are typically said to make up about 36 percent of a cellular provider’s total operating costs. With the expectations of consumers only growing when it comes to the dependability and speed of a network, these companies are only going to see terrestrial costs increase. By working with a company like Hughes and its satellite technology, these networks can save quite a bit of money while actually getting better overall coverage.