GSM/GPRS IP backhaul
Our GSM/GPRS backhaul is offered over any IP connectivity (IP radio, microwave, VSAT, fiber, 3G/UMTS) as opposed to the costly satellite backhaul, which is the only solution in rural areas or remote locations.
IP backhaul is robust against peak loss and requires less backhaul bandwidth.
We provide full-rate GSM and reduce the risk of interrupted voice calls.
SIP signalling is another component that allows us to reduce the overall backhaul cost, as opposed to the costly Abis signalling.
The SatSite does not require a Base Station Controller (BSC) and all the paging messages between the base station and the BSC are removed, unlike the constant data rate over satellite in a conventional network.
| Service | Bandwidth |
|---|---|
| Speech only | 150 kbit/sec |
| GPRS | 200 kbit/sec |
| EDGE | 600 kbit/sec |
Back-to-back microwave transmission
Conventional GSM/GPRS backhauling solutions use C-RTP or RTP over satellite, which are considerably more expensive than VoIP with trunking.
Abis signalling between the base station and the BSC is deployed with more overhead than an IP-based backhaul.
Even in idle mode, the exchange of messages over Abis still requires a constant 40 kbit/sec over satellite, leading to increased costs.
Estimates based on an average satellite service cost of $6/GB/mo show that savings over a 5 year time are the following:
| Media backhaul | Savings GB | $ Savings |
|---|---|---|
| RTP | GB/month/unit | $3.6k/ over 5 years |
| C-RTP | 1.7 GB/month | $540 over 5 years |
| Constant 40 kbit/sec over satellite | 13 GB/mo | $4.7k over 5 years |