Photo: Via Satellite
Intelsat revealed on its corporate blog on Tuesday that the Intelsat CellBackhaul service is coming to Europe. The company recently implemented a new gateway using Comtech hubs at the Intelsat datacenter in Fuchsstadt, Germany, designed to enable the service. Intelsat made its CellBackhaul service available in the U.S. in May.
According to the post, Intelsat has seen a doubling in traffic in rural cellular networks. This was attributed to an increase in remote work, education, and healthcare. In response, the Intelsat CellBackhaul was created as an end-to-end managed service to help Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) quickly and efficiently expand their broadband coverage. The service aims to decrease the logistical and financial issues usually associated with building traditional terrestrial infrastructure.
"Our managed cellular backhaul service enables MNOs to quickly and cost-effectively expand 4G, 5G, and Internet of Things (IoT) coverage into underserved and unserved areas that they may have previously considered unreachable – economically or logistically," Intelsat Regional Vice President (VP) for Europe Rhys Morgan commented. "In addition to expanding coverage, our service can also provide MNOs with a secure, auxiliary backhaul solution for existing terrestrial-backhauled coverage areas in the event of an unexpected outage due to fiber cuts, which can sever connections to an MNO's core network."