Satellite Cellular Backhaul Market - May 2020 - ST Engineering iDirect
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May 2020 Satellite Cellular Backhaul Market (image courtesy of ST Engineering iDirect)
Satellite Cellular Backhaul
Market
by Elisabeth Tweedie
W
e live in a mobile world. to keep in touch with loved ones growing 49% between 2018 and
More and more, inhab- and friends during the periods of 2019. Going forwards Ericsson is
itants of the developed lockdown that have been enforced predicting mobile traffic to expe-
world expect to be able to access around the world. Verizon in the rience an annual growth of 27%
data and video wherever they are, US for example reports that the av- to 2025, from 38 to 160 exabytes
and at same connectivity speed erage number of daily voice calls, per month. A lot of this increase
that is available in their home or is currently more than double the is due to the increasing amount of
office. High-speed internet access, number of calls made on Mothers’ video being viewed on mobile de-
has become a necessity. In the de- Day, normally one of the busiest vices. Video is forecast to account
veloping world it paves the way days of the year. for 78% of overall traffic in 2025.
to local commerce, education and According to the Ericsson Mo- We hear a lot about 5G, and
economic growth. In those parts bility Report, at the end of 2019 that is definitely the future. How-
of the world, mobile networks are there were 7.9 billion mobile sub- ever, for some Mobile Network
frequently the only Operators (MNOs) so
means of connec- is 4G. In the next few
tivity available. We years, many networks
have now reached around the world will
the point where be upgraded to this
globally most inter- technology. Accord-
net access is via mo- ing to the latest statis-
bile devices. 52% tics from the GSMA
in January 2020. of the 7.9 billion sub-
In Africa and Asia scriptions, 48% are
at 60% and 62% still on 2 and 3G net-
respectively the fig- works. This figure
ure is even higher. is projected to drop
In developed econ- to 23% by 2025, at
omies as well, it has which point 20% will
becoming a very Image courtesy of Envision
be on 5G networks and
popular access method account- 56% on 4G. Accord-
ing for 48% of internet access in scriptions, projected to grow to 8.9 ing to Cisco’s Global Mobile Data
North America. billion by 2025. In spite of these Traffic Forecast, 4G users typical-
Even in the midst of the large numbers, in 2020 over three ly use three times more data than
Covid-19 crisis when most of the billion people in the world, still 3G users and ten times as much
world’s population is confined to have no access to any kind of fixed as 2G users. Preliminary figures
their homes, mobile usage contin- or mobile service. Usually mobile from South Korea, indicate that
ues to increase in many countries. networks are the first step in pro- 5G subscribers are using 2.6 times
China, for example saw a 30% in- viding connectivity to unserved as much data as 4G subscribers.
crease in the number of hours per areas. Unserved means no fiber or This means that effectively al-
device spent on mobile data usage. terrestrial backbone. Satellite is the most every MNO will be dealing
In Italy the figure was 11%. It’s ideal way to connect these regions. with increased traffic volume in
not just internet access that has Absolute numbers of subscrip- the next few years. An increase,
seen these increases. The use of tions may be experiencing only sin- that in some areas can more cost
voice services has also increased gle digit growth, but data usage is effectively be handled by satellite
considerably, as people strive accelerating at a far greater pace:
2 MARKET BRIEFS May 2020
NAM LAM WEU
CEEU MENA SSA
ASIA High Growth Low Growth
Source: NSR
backhaul. because of this, satellite came to We will continue to add satellite
Upgrading a network to the be viewed as the technology of last capabilities to our wireless re-
next generation technology isn’t resort. Fortunately, some forward sponse fleet so they can respond
as simple as flipping a switch, looking MNOs have recognized much faster. We are using more
and suddenly everyone is using it. that things have changed and taken high-throughput satellite product
Users upgrade at their own pace; advantage of satellite’s capabilities. offerings, like those from ST En-
therefore, the MNO has to be able For example, in 2015 Avanti gineering iDirect, to augment the
to handle all generations of mobile Communications, using an ST En- bandwidth required for LTE com-
technology and mix of traffic types gineering iDirect modem, worked munications. Bandwidth needs are
at the base station. Similarly, the with TTCL (now known as TTC), always growing and satcom will be
backhaul solution has to be versa- a mobile operator in Tanzania to critical.”
tile and flexible enough to handle extend its network reach, so as to Several factors have now com-
the different traffic mix of voice, give rural customers the same op- bined to make satellite backhaul
data and video, as well as the in- portunities as those living in ur- an attractive proposition for
creased volume of data. ban and suburban areas. Custom- MNOs. On the supply side, the
ers can now access the internet at advent of High Throughput Satel-
Satellite Backhaul speeds of up to 15Mb. Similarly, lites (HTS) caused bandwidth pric-
in 2017, Teledata de Mozambique es to fall dramatically, changing
For many years now, MNOs chose Newtec’s (now ST Engineer- the economics entirely. In most
have relied on satellite for back- ing iDirect) Dialog hub for its mo- parts of the world, bandwidth is
haul in more remote and less de- bile backhaul and banking services. now priced at US$ 200-300 per
veloped regions of the globe. In Satellite backhaul however, is Mbps, about a third of what it
fact, without satellite it would not confined to developing econ- was a few years ago. According to
have been both a logistical night- omies and rural areas, satellite analysis by NSR, this means that
mare and prohibitively expensive equipped base stations are also when a base station throughput is
to connect these networks to the found in urban areas. This is par- more than 600GB per month, sat-
backbone. Compared to laying fi- ticularly true for first responder ellite becomes the cheapest solu-
ber or installing microwave links, networks. As Stuart Burson, As- tion for backhaul. To put this into
satellite is quick and easy to de- sociate Director, Satellite Solutions perspective, data consumption
ploy, being indifferent to both in- Group, Verizon Response Team, in in Sub-Sahara Africa is typically
hospitable terrain and line of sight the US said: “The industry needs 0.6GB per month. So, if a base
restrictions. to get the word out that in a cri- station supports 1,000 users, even
Early installations were expen- sis, satellite will still be the main in a low-revenue developing econ-
sive and offered only low band- technology that can be counted on omy, satellite would be the most
widths. They were often under- to provide consistent communica- economical solution.
taken to meet Universal Service tions. In addition, satellite service NSR’s Wireless Backhaul via
Obligations (USO) and subsidized providers must be integrated into Satellite, 14th Edition report, fore-
by governments. Unfortunately, the software defined network… casts US$ 39 billion in 2019-2029
MARKET BRIEFS May 2020 3
cumulative capacity revenues for vice Level Agreements (SLAs) and provide the higher bandwidths
Satellite Backhaul. With backhaul sophisticated Quality of Service to clusters of isolated customers.
networks rapidly transitioning to (QoS) bandwidth management. These rural customers are no dif-
4G and the installed base continu- The current generation of plat- ferent from their urban counter-
ously expanding, Mobile Backhaul forms is future-proof to accom- parts in terms of expectations.
via Satellite offers sizable oppor- modate the demands of 5G. They want and expect to be able to
tunities in all regions. Small cells On the demand side, the expo- access the same social networking,
will play an increasingly important nential growth of the mobile mar- video sites and mobile money ser-
role in this growth, as lower costs ket, both in terms of numbers of vices as their urban counterparts,
expand the addressable market to devices and bandwidth consump- making a low data rate solution no
areas previously uncovered due to tion, mean that MNOs are look- longer viable, hence the need for
industry cost metrics, according to ing to offload traffic in congested small cells to accommodate this.
NSR. areas. This is particularly true in According to NSR a small cell
The NSR report further added cases of sudden demand surge. A base station can be set up for un-
that the multiple mergers and ac- major sporting event or a disas- der US$20,000. Cheaper band-
quisitions in the VSAT platform ter for example, when excessive width and terminals, coupled with
space are particularly relevant spikes in traffic, overload the ter- small cells and greatly enhanced
for the satellite backhaul market. restrial network. hubs combine to make satellite
The combination of ST Engineer- “We are seeing exponential a very attractive proposition for
ing iDirect and Newtec created a demand for mobile connectivity the MNO. Coupling 5G’s use of
strong force in the global ground which is covering every region. small cells with the existing use by
segment market and Satellite Back- Demand is growing from the most MNOs led NSR to forecast that by
haul forms an integral part of the urban to the most rural areas. 2029 there will be 800,00 satellite
newly merged company’s strategy. Mobile networks are poised to be- backhaul sites in operation, up
Comtech/Gilat/UHP have followed come the primary way in which we from well under 100,000 today.
this bold lead, but the acquisition connect, especially as 5G comes
is not expected to close until the online with new use cases. Mobile Key Players
later part of 2020. Additionally, as network operators will need satel-
MNOs are increasingly willing to lite and its inherent capabilities to In spite of a recent spate of
outsource network management, help with this tremendous surge in mergers and acquisitions there are
multiple entities are moving into demand, in both rural and urban still several companies meeting the
offering end-to-end services. areas,” said Semir Hassanaly, challenge to provide a flexible,
As the nature of mobile com- Head of Cellular Backhaul and scalable ground system. These in-
munications has changed, so too Trunking, ST Engineering iDirect. clude: ST Engineering iDirect,(in-
has the supporting ground satel- An additional factor is the in- cluding Newtec), Comtech (in-
lite technology. Terminal prices creasing use by mobile operators cluding Comtech EF Data, Gilat
have fallen drastically, so adding of small cells. Operators around and UHP Networks), Hughes and
to the financial attractiveness of the world are deploying them to Spacebridge (which split from Ad-
a satellite solution. The current increase network capacity in con- vantech Wireless), among others.
generation of platforms now ac- gested areas and to extend cover- All of these companies have been
commodates data, video and inter- age to extreme rural areas. Small in the market for many years and
net access as well as voice. VSAT cells are particularly relevant for to a greater and lesser degree have
platforms are flexible and scalable 5G. In urban areas most 5G de- products that meet the current de-
so as to cope with the explosion in ployments will utilize millime- mands of the mobile backhaul.
bandwidth and changing custom- ter waves, as these enable larger One company which is making
er demands. Most give the MNO bandwidth allocations, facilitating significant inroads in the satellite
the opportunity to “start small,” the higher speeds integral to 5G. backhaul market is ST Engineer-
yet offer economies of scale as By definition, as they don’t travel ing iDirect. The combination of
networks expand and bandwidth as far, millimeter waves necessi- two great innovators in the mar-
needs increase. They’re able to tate the use of small cells. In ru- ket, iDirect and Newtec creates a
compress video and handle large ral areas, 5G deployments will be formidable player. The company
volumes of data. The mix of traf- a mixture of macro cells for wide is responsible for installing a sat-
fic demands more complex Ser- area coverage, and small cells to ellite backhaul network of 1,500
4 MARKET BRIEFS May 2020
ST Engineering iDirect’s Cellular Backhaul Solution
ST Engineering iDirect’s backhaul solution, Newtec Dialog®, leverages multiple components which interact dynami-
cally and provide the industry’s highest efficiency performances. It is based on the Cellular traffic management which
focuses on cellular backhaul advanced processing, as well as the Dialog function components which empower the core
Dialog platform. Combined, these components provide the best backhaul service to Mobile Operators.
The Cellular traffic management encompasses the functionality dedicated to bandwidth optimization for mobile voice
and data traffic, while accelerating 4G LTE. These functions provide the components which are at the heart of the
Dialog platform and ensure the high-performance of satellite services.
Dialog® and Mx-DMA®
Mx-DMA® is the best fit for the
mobile backhaul traffic as it can
constantly provide the highest spectral
efficiency based on real-time traffic
and fading conditions. Mx-DMA’s
seamless dynamic adaptation ensures
that the mobile voice, signaling and
data traffic (including video) are
always preserved. Mx-DMA‘s flexibil-
ity also ensures that low throughput
2G networks with symmetrical traffic
patterns are accommodated equally as
well as demanding 3G/4G networks
with higher asymmetry. Mx-DMA
therefore contributes to a very high
Quality of Experience (QoE) for users.
In addition, the implementation of
Mx-DMA can result in the doubling of the transponder throughput while using the same bandwidth, or, alternatively,
it can reduce the required space segment capacity by 50%.
A Proven Platform
Dialog® and Mx-DMA have been successfully deployed commercially for mobile networks in Asia, Africa and Latin
America. The platform has gone under thorough testing with the infrastructure equipment from main manufacturers
such as Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia and ZTE, for macro cells and small cells. For reference, Dialog is currently empow-
ering one of the world’s highest capacity mobile backhaul over satellite projects. There are currently more than 20
mobile backhaul networks deployed over the Dialog platform in the world.
Future Proof Technology
The Dialog® platform benefits from ST Engineering iDirect’s continuous investments in R&D. Customers
are always guaranteed to get the most advanced platform in the market, but also one which is field-tested and which
incorporates the ingredients of tomorrow’s technology. As an example, the increasing utilization of virtualization tech-
nologies and the high performances further facilitate a smooth transition to 5G. ST Engineering iDirect is also heavily
involved in initiatives with European Space Agency (ESA) and other industrial consortiums for 5G proof of concepts
and interworking scenarios.
MARKET BRIEFS
MARKET BRIEFS May
May 2020
2020 55
Semir Hassanaly, Head of Cellular Backhaul and
Trunking, ST Engineering iDirect
With the combined company, ST Engineering iDi- unique and advanced technology that we have taken
rect, how do you see your position in the Cellular to the market and that
Backhaul market going forward? is proven.
While there’s more opportunity than ever for We help mobile
growth, service providers and operators require network operators
state of the art solutions but also a deep experience grow their subscribers
in cellular backhaul as well as established relation- in remote or unreach-
ships with key mobile operators. The combination able areas, ensure
of our two companies has brought together the mobile connectivity in
strong focus that we both have always had on the emergency situations,
customer with our hunger for innovation. Our and build 5G-compat-
integration means that ST Engineering iDirect is ible networks.
now a leader in satellite ground infrastructure and
solutions and further strengthens its position in the Our efficient,
cellular backhaul and trunking markets. high-performance
platform enables mo-
For cellular backhaul specifically, we see an in- bile network opera-
creased need in the market. We have been aggressive tors and service Semir Hassanaly
in the market and very successful in acquiring addi- providers to cost-effectively manage a multitude
tional market share over the last couple of years. In of small, medium, or large networks, including 2G,
the future, we expect to see this demand for satellite 3G, 4G/LTE, and 5G and also allow cost-effective
cellular backhaul growing steadily and we also see media distribution. We enable high QoS and high
very large projects being planned that will use an QoE through patented sophisticated QoS engines
increasing amount of cellular backhaul capacity. and technologies and advanced acceleration and
Our experience with 5G projects is also giving us a compression technologies while maximizing an oper-
head start to the upcoming widespread usage of this ator’s business profitability, encouraging the critical
ecosystem. expansion of mobile connectivity around the world.
ST Engineering iDirect is uniquely positioned to We have also helped pioneer the cellular backhaul
answer demand across the entire cellular backhaul solution and have bolstered its growth with nu-
market, from price-sensitive to premium applica- merous successful commercial deployments. Major
tions with our advanced technology and a strategy mobile operators trust us.
for growth that is future proof.
Along with cellular backhaul, our experience and
What differentiates your company’s solutions from footprint in the broadcast, government, mobility
your competitors’ in this segment? and enterprise markets has given us an edge with
cross-vertical and multiservice solutions. This is
We cover all aspects of the cellular backhaul what we are also leveraging for 5G.
market and we have an extremely strong and very
unique offering. We provide high performance, It is this whole combination that differentiates us
very efficient, very flexible, very scalable solutions from our competitors.
so that we can cater for almost any type of mobile
network today. That applies to the hub offering What are the key applications you are targeting for
as well as the remote modems. We have developed your cellular backhaul solutions and what advan-
6 MARKET BRIEFS May 2020
tages and benefits do you provide for each applica- “...Mobile network operators will need
tion?
satellite and its inherent capabilities to
In terms of applications, we are targeting 2G, help with the tremendous surge in de-
3G, 4G, rural, ultra-rural and ultra-ultra rural de- mand, in both rural and urban areas...”
ployments, 5G, first responder community, private
networks, high-speed trunking and fiber restoration
and OTT content distribution. Our Dialog platform seeing exponential demand for mobile connectivity
and its associated technologies provide a solution which is covering every region. Demand is growing
that is built for today and tomorrow and supports from the most urban to the most rural areas. The
all of the above applications. opportunity for expansion is huge. Mobile networks
are poised to become the primary way in which we
Dialog is a multiservice VSAT platform that connect, especially as 5G comes online with new use
allows operators and service providers to build and cases. Mobile network operators will need satellite
adapt their infrastructure and satellite networking and its inherent capabilities to help with this tre-
according to business or missions at hand. Cellular mendous surge in demand, in both rural and urban
Operators and Service Providers particularly value areas.
the enablement of high QoS and QoE while low-
ering OPEX through the flexibility, scalability and Hybrid networking is presenting new use cases
efficiency that the Dialog platform can offer while for satellite service providers to help mobile network
paving a way to take advantage of 5G in the future. operators to handle the demands of the connected
Dialog can also offer very high speed trunking and world. Satellite can help in so many ways, from
fiber restoration capability. offloading congested networks to enabling media
distribution for OTT services to enabling continuous
The Dialog platform can be configured to match operations in the event of network disruption and to
the size and the satellite network configuration for playing a key role in the evolution of mobile net-
any customer application. A vast choice is available works and integration into the 5G model.
in terms of satellite bands, transmission speed, pow-
er, modulation and amount of forward and return Satellite must be complementary to the terrestrial
links. The hub scales smoothly and cost effectively infrastructure. It must blend in and be totally seam-
from small (few terminals) to large networks (hun- less. It’s all about providing the ideal connectivity
dreds of thousands of terminals) and from single based on cost and availability requirements, based
coverage area to multiple coverage areas on any on latency requirements, so any application should
frequency band. It can serve one or multiple satel- be able to get the connectivity they need based on
lites, including high-throughput spot beam configu- the characteristics of the application. Satellite will
rations. also continue providing connectivity to where it is
In addition, our recently introduced MxDMA difficult to reach – remote and geographically chal-
MRC technology adds the scalability for ultra-rural lenging areas and also for mobility markets such as
and small cell networks where the number of sites maritime and aero. It will still be the key transport
is traditionally very high, and it also allows the de- solution.
ployment of multiple services where high scalability
is sought along backhaul services. ST Engineering iDirect is ideally positioned
to offer a future proof cellular backhaul solution
What are the key trends you see in the cellular through our multi-service platform that expands
backhaul market and how is your company posi- market reach, offering the efficiency, performance
tioned to meet the opportunities and challenges in and service capabilities that our customers need to
this market? win today’s opportunities, multiplied by the scale
and innovation required to expand into tomorrow’s
At present, we see the opportunity in an ex- markets.
panded market for satellite connectivity. We are
MARKET BRIEFS May 2020 7
cellular sites, the largest such net- streaming over a 5G multilink sat- 5G is also a step change for the
work in the world; twelve of the ellite and terrestrial network using satellite industry. A common net-
top 25 telcos are ST Engineering a GEO satellite, and 5G video to work architecture, which all access
iDirect customers. The company planes. technologies, including satellite,
is also making a name for itself in will adhere to, has been defined.
4G and now has a 50% share of Looking to the Future It is the first time that the industry
new installs in this market. Dialog, has been actively involved in devel-
the company’s flagship product for 5G is a step change for the mo- oping the standards for a mobile
backhaul was awarded the presti- bile industry, it’s the broadband technology. ST Engineering iDi-
gious “Teleport Technology of the network on steroids. It is expected rect has been a significant contrib-
Year” by the World Teleport Asso- to deliver speeds of up to 10Gbps, utor to several of the 5G standards
ciation in 2020. 100 faster than today’s 4G/LTE working groups, including SaT5G,
Dialog is a flexible, scalable, networks and accommodate up to SATis5 and OSMOSIS, and, as
efficient multi-service platform. one million devices per square ki- already mentioned has conducted
Data, video, voice, and datacasting lometer. Video already accounts several demonstrations of satellite
can all be offered from the one plat- for 60% of mobile network traf- integrated 5G.
form. It is flexible enough to grow fic, predicted to rise to 78% by Of course, just as 2G and 3G
as the MNO’s business grows. If 2025; 5G will facilitate this in- exist alongside 4G, 4G will contin-
there is no terrestrial infrastructure crease. However, 5G isn’t just a ue to coexist with 5G. The stan-
in a region, it can support individ- bigger, faster network, it will have dard is backwards compatible, so
ual end-users, once cellular is de- exponentially higher efficiencies, any 5G modem will work with 4G.
ployed in a region, it will handle massive scalability, lower latency Obviously, satellite has a tre-
the backhaul. It can provide IP and significantly lower costs. It mendous role to play in backhaul
trunking. When fiber is present it is poised to be the driver for the for 5G, both fixed and mobile, but
will be there for offloading capac- Internet of Things (IoT), enabling it will also facilitate many of the
ity during demand surges, or for machine to machine communica- use cases.
emergency needs. As 5G is rolled tion at an unprecedented level. It eMBB will provide faster data
out, its multicasting capabilities will be used as a fixed network rates, enabling the increased use
make it ideal for delivering video providing broadband to the home. of video streaming services. This
to the edge. Total versatility and Three basic use cases have been is an area where satellite can play
flexibility. Mx-DMA (Cross-Di- agreed upon: a major role. MNOs will need to
mensional Multiple Access) return • Enhanced Mobile Broad- deliver video to the edge, to ac-
technology provides the flexibility band (eMBB) commodate the increased demand.
to simultaneously support a sym- • Ultra-reliable low-latency Not only can the multicast capa-
metrical 2G network at the same communications (URLLC) bilities of satellite deliver it there
time as a more asymmetrical 3 or • Massive Machine Type more efficiently, satellite operators
4G network. It can also enable Communications (mMTC) have been operating content deliv-
doubling of transponder through- The ability to support these ery networks for many years, and
put. Mx-DMA and SCPC (Single three very different use cases, is already have the skill and experi-
Channel per Carrier) modems for made possible by the fact that ence to do this.
Dialog enable beam switching on a 5G, will be a virtual rather than a While satellite will never be
single satellite or between multiple physical network. The vast major- used for URLLC required for ve-
satellites for the aeronautical and ity of the standards are software hicle to vehicle communication,
maritime markets. not hardware. The architecture satellite delivery of streamed video
It is also important to note that will take advantage of Network for passenger entertainment will
Dialog works seamlessly with any Function Virtualization (NFV) significantly reduce the congestion
orbit, and ST Engineering iDirect and Software Defined Networking that would otherwise occur at the
was responsible for the world’s (SDN). Together these essentially base station. The multicast capa-
first 5G backhaul and OTT de- move the core network functions bilities of satellite are ideally suit-
livery over a LEO satellite. Oth- to the cloud. They also enable net- ed to deliver software updates to
er demonstrations include Over- work slicing, which is the key to vehicles, once again relieving net-
the-Air MEC-based (Multi-access being able to simultaneously run work congestion for the MNO.
Edge Computing) layered video the very different applications. Satellite also has a role to play
8 MARKET BRIEFS May 2020Verizon’s Operation Convergent Response
The Challenge this can mean the difference between life and death.
C
ommunications in the aftermath of a disaster Internet connectivity is essential to collect, send
are a critical enabler for relief agencies to coor- and receive data from collaborative cloud plat-
dinate response efforts and to get help to those forms that are often specially developed for use
that need it. Yet connectivity is often difficult to estab- by disaster workers. It is also used to commu-
lish, especially when terrestrial infrastructure is over- nicate with headquarters and with the team in
loaded or has been destroyed, or simply unavailable. the field, via voice, email and instant messaging.
When time is of the essence, the first responder The Solution
and Non-Government Organization (NGO) commu-
nities require robust, easy-to-deploy communications Recognizing the value of technology innovation
that will enable them to help lift the fog of confu- and preparedness, Verizon and Nokia host an annual
sion after or public safety tech-
even during nology expo and
a serious or live demonstra-
catastrophic tion event, Oper-
event. The ation Convergent
current glob- Response (OCR),
al pandem- at the Guardian
ic provides Centers in Perry,
us with a GA that brings to-
first-hand gether the world’s
example of most innova-
a global cri- tive companies
sis where to showcase and
teams must test their technol-
be quickly ogies with first
mobilized response teams
across the during live emer-
globe to en- gency response
able emer- operations. OCR
gency treat- attendees have
ment, testing the opportunity
and assess- to observe differ-
ment. It is The Verizon Operation Convergent Response (OCR) truck at OCR ent disaster sce-
therefore es- 2019 where attendees had the opportunity to observe six different narios, all driven
sential that scenarios to demonstrate first responder solutions and innovations. by real-life global
these teams have access to connectivity wherever it is events that put technology and teams to the test so when
required - at field hospitals, at drive-thru testing cen- events do happen, agencies on the front line are ready,
ters in parking lots, for connectivity on-the-move on- able to respond, can help recover, and ultimately rebuild.
board ambulances and other medical vehicles and even
onboard medical ships moored to help patients. Con- An integral part of the emergency connectivity
nectivity assists inter-agency coordination and com- portfolio leveraged at OCR are satellite communi-
munication, telemedicine, expert assessment, transfer cations (satcom) technologies. Requiring no prior
of patient files and information sharing at a time where infrastructure in order to operate, satcom-enabled
MARKET BRIEFS May 2020 9mobile command centers and comms-on-the-move “...Satellite is critical for first
vehicles help empower first responders to share in-
formation about hard-hit areas, to coordinate es-
responders to perform their jobs and
sential services, to enable residents to check in with to enable victims to contact their loved
loved ones and to eventually restore communities. ones and apply for emergency aid...”
“Verizon brings an overlay by providing tradition-
al voice and data communications over satellite, as
(COWs) and Cells-on-Light-Trucks (COLTs) were
well as delivering LTE in the impacted area while
equipped with iDirect’s satellite routers to pro-
using satellite as the backhaul transport to the glob-
vide backhaul speeds up to 100+ Mbps. In disas-
al network,” said Stuart Burson, Associate Direc-
ter response scenarios, COWs and COLTs are used
tor, Satellite Solutions Group, Verizon Response
to re-establish critical voice and data connectiv-
Team. “Satellite is critical for first responders to
ity in times when traditional wireless connectiv-
perform their jobs and to enable victims to con-
ity is not available. The COWs and COLTs can be
tact their loved ones and apply for emergency aid.”
driven to the area where connectivity is required
and can be instantly deployed, creating a network
At OCR2019, attendees had the opportuni-
where one didn’t exist previously or was destroyed.
ty to observe six different scenarios to demon-
strate first responder solutions and innovations.
Today, satellite is also empowering new technolo-
gies, such as drones and the Internet of Things (IoT)
ST Engineering iDirect demonstrated its satcom
sensors, to further help first responders on the ground
solutions during the Cyberattack on Critical Infra-
when cellular and fiber networks are down. Satellite can
structure scenario. With satellite-enabled mobile com-
also be used to aggregate the information collected (im-
mand vehicles, emergency response teams can send
ages, GPS coordinates, video clips) to send back to HQ
data — from video to voice — en route to and at the
or to quickly analyze and form actionable intelligence.
frontlines of a disaster site. These mobile command ve-
hicles can also help residents connect with loved ones,
The Result
coordinate essential services and restore communities.
Satellite technology facilitates critical on-the-move
During the scenario, ST Engineering iDirect’s
and on-the-pause communications and continuity of
satcom solutions powered a Kymeta u7 terminal
operations regardless of what terrestrial infrastruc-
mounted on a Can-Am vehicle so first responders
ture is available. As Stuart Burson explains, satellite
could establish a common operating picture and
has become an integral part of Verizon’s emergency
help build situational awareness directly from the
connectivity mix and is set to play a bigger role as
scene. The u7 terminal’s flat panel antenna, paired
the company continues to add satellite capabilities to
with an iDirect Very Small Aperture Terminal
their wireless response fleet to enable them to respond
(VSAT) modem, is small enough to fit on a variety
more rapidly. “We are using more high-through-
of emergency vehicles, from patrol cars to SWAT.
put satellite product offerings, like those from ST
“Toggling between cellular and satellite is a critical
Engineering iDirect, to augment the bandwidth re-
feature we’ve been using for years in our networks,
quired for LTE communications. Bandwidth needs
and the iQ LTE router will make our design much
are always growing and satcom will be critical.”
more efficient,” said Jeff Schweitzer, Asymmetric
Solutions Architect at Verizon. “While the macro net-
The Verizon team is constantly looking to the
work is offline, the iQ LTE remote would operate on
future to expand its communications portfolio and
satellite networks (satellite backhaul, etc.) as needed,
become even more effective in the field and expects
when the LTE network returns, they could use the
5G and other emerging technologies to play an im-
LTE network as a primary means of communication.”
portant part in the future of relief communications.
Powered by Dialog®, Verizon’s cells-on-wheels
10 MARKET BRIEFS May 2020offloading 5G networks. While the “...Rather than being the technology of last resort,
actual data rate involved in eM2C satellite is poised to be the MNO’s keystone that fa-
communication is small, aggregat-
ing all the data from millions of cilitates network expansion and the rollout of 5G...”
devices, will have a major impact
operators, broadcast, high- Commercial Officer said “This is
on network loads. Network slic-
speed mobility, military and enter- the most efficient, most advanced
ing enables non-latency sensitive
prise. return technology that you can
data, to be offloaded onto satellite
The portfolio represents the in- imagine…the efficiencies are in-
or to simply enhance efficiency by
dustry’s defacto standard in per- credible, the overhead is very low
sending over satellite.
formance, efficiency and reliabil- and it scales 10,000-100,000 sites,
As already mentioned, NSR is
ity, and covers the gambit from it’s the most advanced VSAT re-
forecasting that by 2029 there will
small- to medium-range networks; turn technology ever built. With
be 800,000 satellite backhaul sites
dedicated TDMA or SCPC net- the added dimensions and scalabil-
in operation. This is due to mo-
works; massive scale broadcasting; ity, we are unlocking tremendous
bile users consuming ever greater
to dynamic, multiservice, large- flexibility and scale so our custom-
amounts of bandwidth, usually in
scale HTS platforms. ers can deliver a broader range of
the form of video, forcing MNOs
A key innovation in the port- service levels at a lower cost struc-
to install more base stations to
folio is Mx-DMA waveform as ture without compromise.”
accommodate this. Small cells
part of the Dialog platform. Mx-
are now widely deployed and this
DMA MRC (multi-resolution cod- The Future Vision from
trend will increase with 5G, A typ-
ing), unites SCPC (single channel ST Engineering iDirect
ical 5G network will be a mixture
per carrier) efficiency and TDMA
of small cells for millimeter wave
(time-division multiple access) ST Engineering iDirect’s tech-
coverage and larger base stations
scalability in an innovative way, nology vision is driving this
for wide area coverage.
adding new dimensions of adapt- re-definition of ground infrastruc-
ability. Mx-DMA MRC applies ture capability. The goal is to cre-
ST Engineering iDirect
the full scalability of a TDMA re- ate the world’s first cloud-based,
turn link to the original Mx-DMA multi-access, multi-orbit technolo-
Since the merger was announced
HRC (high resolution coding) re- gy platform.
a year ago iDirect/Newtec is now
turn at the same efficiency levels. This Platform will ensure full
one unified company, ST Engineer-
This means that service providers interoperability with future 5G
ing iDirect; and is in the perfect
can now cover a variety of use networks to drive broader adop-
position to lead the innovation and
cases in a single self-organizing re- tion of satellite connectivity at
transformation of the satcom in-
turn link, sharing satellite capacity massive scale and enable custom-
dustry. The merger combined the
more efficiently over a group of ers to offer unified, value-added
complementary strengths of each:
terminals and applications. This services across any existing or fu-
iDirect’s unparalleled networking
results in the lowest TCO (total ture telecommunication network.
and mobility features with New-
cost of ownership) for the MNO Through this vision, rather than
tec’s exceptional performance and
or satellite operator. being the technology of last resort,
efficiency. This combination gives
At the ST Engineering iDirect satellite will be the MNO’s key-
the new company the scale to ac-
launch of the technology Thom- stone that facilitates network ex-
celerate its technology strategy, de-
as Van den Driessche, President pansion and the rollout of 5G.
livering products to market faster
of the Executive Board and Chief
than was previously possible.
The newly combined portfolio Elisabeth Tweedie is Associate Editor of the Satel-
of high-value product lines give lite Executive Briefing has over 20 years experience
customers one comprehensive at the cutting edge of new commmunications enter-
solution, from one trusted source, tainment technologies. She is the founder and Pres-
across a complete array of mar- ident of Definitive Direction (www.definitivedirection.
kets. The portfolio has wide -rang- com), a consultancy that focuses on researching
ing impact spanning a myriad of
and evaluating the long-term potential for new ventures, initiating their
markets and applications, includ-
development, and identifying and developing appropriate alliances.
ing telcos, mobile network
She can be reached at: etweedie@definitivedirection.com
MARKET BRIEFS May 2020 11You can also read
