Gilat hosts free webinar on satellite-based cellular backhaul solutions

Gilat Satellite Networks is inviting mobile network operators to a free live webinar solutions on April 17, 2013 at 13:00 GMT. The webinar will discuss how broadband satellite-powered cellullar backhaul solutions can extend mobile connectivity.

According to Gilat, satellite backhaul solutions can bring mobile networks to remote areas; increase subscriber bases; and fulfill requirements for bandwidth, budget, and network architecture, all while complying with government regulations.

The Gilat free webinar will discuss access schemes that support both small cells and large macro cells, reduction of OPEX through maximum bandwidth efficiency (TDMA,) dedicated channels for high throughput (SCPC,) and support for heterogeneous networks like 2G, 3G, and LTE. All of these can extend mobile connectivity using satellite broadband technology.

Is T-Mobile Revamping Plans In The Near Future?

A rumor has been circling the web that T-Mobile, the telecommunications giant based on Germany, is possibly revamping plans in the near future to make unlimited talk and text a de facto part of experience, where data would be the only changeable factor. On the other hand, Classic tiers, the started $60 plan would have 500MB of full-speed data with hotspot support built-in while subscribers could upgrade their service in 2GB increments that cost between $10-20 dollars per month for individuals. You'd still have 'real' unlimited data on Classic from $90, with the hotspot as a bolt-on option. Specific prices aren't given on the 'leaked' information, though.

An upcoming event this March 26 is scheduled for T-Mobile, right there, maybe, people will get much more about this leaked plans of the said company.

See also: New Bug Found On iPhone's iOS 6.1.3 Update

BlackBerry 10 Sales Appeared To Be Strong

The sales figure on BlackBerry Z10's first-generation phones are in and the company says that the sales "appear to be strong." Limited supply, however, was the reason why BlackBerry Z10 have stock-outs in United Kingdom and Canada.

Also, BlackBerry Z10 is said to be outselling iPhone 5 and Galaxy SIII at major Canadian retailers. BGR even confirmed BlackBerry's early success with half of BlackBerry Z10 sales in Canada and one-third of UK sales have been made to users coming from other platforms.

Todd Coupland, CIBC analyst said in a report that 50 percent of pre-registration for the Z10 in Canada came from users who did not already own BlackBerry devices. However, other analysts worry that Z10's lack of differentiation with other brands such as iPhone and Android may not be compelling to the users.

See also: NASA’s SOFIA Aircraft To Be Updated This Summer

Thaicom, CTS, Synertone announce framework agreement for iPSTAR sales

Thaicom Pl, China Telecom Satellite (CTS,) and Synertone Communication Corporation (Synertone) have achieved a framework agreement that will allow Thaicom to sell iPSTAR satellite bandwidth in China.

According to the agreement, Thaicom will sell its China-dedicated iPSTAR capacity (which is about 24% of iPSTAR's total capacity) to Synertone. The Company will be assisted by CTS, Thaicom's official Chinese partner. They and Synertone are currently fine-tuning the agreement.

Thaicom will receive a share in the revenues of Synertone's bandwidth sales in the Chinese market. The satellite operator will also acquire an equity stake in Synertone.

Thanks to this new deal, iPSTAR bandwidth can be leveraged to provide both the private and government sector levels with mobile backhaul, educational projects, and a variety of other services and projects.

Thaicom CEO Suphajee Suthumpun explained that the Company has reached an important milestone for iPSTAR in the critical Chinese market. According to her, Thaicom, CTS, and Synertone will all benefit in various ways from the sale of iPSTAR bandwidth in China.

Thaicom's Chinese partner CTS will be able to expand satellite communications infrastructure throughout China. IPSTAR services and solutions will also give it the ability to quickly deliver services to underserved and un-served locations in the country.

As for Thaicom, the Company will have achieved one of its biggest goals through this deal. Thaicom will have surpassed the break-even point of iPSTAR now that it can deliver satellite capacity to customers in China through CTS and Synertone.

Infonetics report that mobile backhaul gear remains in high demand

The latest market share and forecast report by Infonetics Research stated that the market for mobile backhaul gear will continue to grow.

The biannual Infonetics report, Macrocell Mobile Backhaul Equipment and Services, ranks mobile backhauling equipment vendors, identifies areas of growth for the market, and analyzes equipment, connections, cell sites, and service charges. The report tracks companies worldwide and covers areas of interest such as market share, size, and forecasts, installed cell sites, and service charges.

The market for macrocell mobile backhaul equipment could look forward to slow but steady growth. Verizon Wireless and AT&T may not be buying any new mobile backhaul equipment since they are close to completing their first big wave of LTE deployments. But they're not the only buyers in a very large one with plenty of room for growth. Rising requirements for capacity have driven network operators outside of North America buy microwave gear for additional mobile backhauling capabilities.

The macrocell mobile backhaul equipment market is forecasted to grow to $9.7 billion in 2016. Infonetics further predicted that $43.6 billion worth of macrocell mobile backhaul equipment will be purchased from 2012 to 2016.

Microwave equipment accounts for more than half of all spending in the mobile backhauling market. Supporting this is the Infonetics report, which discovered that 94 % of total purchased macrocell mobile backhaul equipment are IP/Ethernet gear. And 54% of the IP/Ethernet gear are packet-capable microwave types.

According to Infonetics, revenue for Ethernet mobile backhauling router will probably peak in 2015. The build out of macrocell mobile backhaul is expected to subside during that year. From then on, companies will shift their focus to cheaper, easier to deploy small cells.

ACCC fines CNT Corp nearly $20,000 for inadequate backhaul networks

Telephone and internet service provider CNT Corp, has been slapped with a $19,800 fine for its inadequate backhauling services which failed to deliver broadband speeds the company had initially advertised. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) - an agency which monitors fair-trade practices in the country, and is concerned with consumer protection and welfare - fined the company for falsely promoting that it could deliver speeds of up to 1000 mbps to with its FTTP broadband services. 

Based on an investigation by the ACCC, CNT Corp’s backhaul capacity could hardly support 20 mbps for a single user. This meant the broadband customers relying on the latter’s services were paying for speeds that they were not even getting. The chairperson of the ACCC said the incident with CNT Corp should serve as a warning to various telecom operators not to advertise services they cannot deliver. With demand for faster services increasing with the surge of smartphone users and the rise of other powerful computing devices, operators right and left have been advertising “high-speed” broadband. 

The ACCC is making sure all those offering such services comply to stringent regulations. CNT Corp, on the other hand, has been given 3 infringement notices, and must upgrade its present backhaul networks. They’ve also been advised to give gift vouchers to customers affected by their broadband services.

You might also want to read:

• Internet from satellite

Backhauling: Technical And Commercial Definitions

In both the technical and commercial definitions, backhaul generally refers to the side of the network that communicates with the global Internet, paid for at wholesale commercial access rates to or at an Ethernet Exchange, a physical network infrastructure through which Ethernet service provider, carriers and Internet service providers exchange Ethernet traffic between their networks; or other core network access location.

In the broadband Internet industry, the “middle mile” is the segment if a telecommunications network linking a network operator’s core network to the local network plant, typically situated in the incumbent telco’s central office (British English: telephone exchange), that provides access to the local loop, or in the case of cable television operators, the local cable modem termination system. Sometimes, these networks exist between the customer’s local area network (“LAN”), a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building using network media, and those exchanges. This can be a local Wide Area Network (“WAN”), a network that covers a broad area (i.e., any network rgar links across metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries, or  wireless local area network (“WLAN”) connection, which lunks two or more devices using some wireless distribution method (typically spread-spectrum or OFDM radio), and usually proividing a connection through an access point to the wider Internet. For instance, Network New Hampshire Now and Maine Fiber Company run tariffed--a “telecommunications tariff” is an open contact between a telecommunications service provider and the public, filed with a regulating body such as Public Utilities Commission--public dark fibre (“unlit fibre”) networks, an unused optical fibre, available for use in fibre-optic communication, as a backhaul alternative to encourage local and national carriers to reach areas with the following, otherwise it would not be serving: broadband, a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device (and the broader the band, the greater the capacity for traffic); and cell phone (also known as “cellular phone,” “mobile phone,” and a “hand phone”), a device that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. These serve retail networks which in turn connect buildings and bill customer directly.

Cell phones communicating with a single cell tower constitute a local subnetwork. It is the connection between the cell tower, a site where antennas and electronic communications equipment are placed, usually on a radio mast, tower or other high place, to create a cell (or adjacent cells) in a cellular network, and the rest of the world beginning with a backhaul link to the core of the Internet service provider’s network (“ISP”), an organization that provides access to the Internet; via a point of presence (“POP”), an artificial demarcation point or interface point between communications entities.
The term backhaul is often generically used to describe the entire wired part of the network, though this is confused by the use of microwave bands, or radio waves with wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as if millimetre, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz (0.3 GHz) and 300 GHz; and mesh network and edge network topologies, a type of networking where each node must not only capture and disseminate its own data, but also serve as a “relay” for other nodes, that is, it must collaborate to propagate the data in  the network--uses a high capacity wireless channel to get packets to the microwave or fibrr links.

See: NewSat Backhauling