Advanced services pushing need for greater backhaul capabilities

The emergence of new mobile applications and advanced networks is creating an increasing need for backhaul, according to a new report from Visant Strategies.
“Data services, including multimedia downloads, and network upgrades to W-CDMA/HSDPA and EV-DO have led to a surge in backhaul use by mobile carriers,” said the report’s author, Andy Fuertes. “As carriers deploy these evolutionary air interfaces, they must also provide more robust ties between deployed infrastructure and the greater Internet and telecom networks since the newer apps will require bigger pipes to the outside telecom world.”
However, the cost of backhaul is a hurdle, along with physical limitations of copper, according to Visant. Carriers spent about $3.5 billion on backhaul services in the United States last year, said the report.
“Roughly 20 percent of mobile base stations in the United States are backhauled via wireless technologies today, while globally 65 percent of mobile base stations are linked via wireless backhaul,” said Larry Swasey of Visant Strategies. “We see the number of base stations in the U.S. using wireless for backhaul almost doubling by 2011 to help provide this higher backhaul capacity.”