Summary
The source article states that, “DragonWave and Motorola supply “Clearwire’s microwave backhaul transport.” When 4G comes along, the traditional hub and spoke model in which everything gets backhauled to a mobile telephone switching office is expected to somewhat change because a lot of the traffic will go between the cell sites themselves within a mesh network without having to be forced to go back to the hub office.
Analysis
The use of a mesh network in a wireless situation can pay off. If there is a fiber cut, the mesh offers protection in finding an alternate route and is, of course, cheaper than building another pathway to that second area or than to build in SONET flexibility to have continuity and no lost signals. With a mesh, there is also lower maintenance costs. Another advantage that a mesh offers is better traffic management versus a straight backhaul network, such as, for instance, if the call volume is extremely heavy off of one cell. On the other hand, the discussion surrounds mobile phones, and most of the time, the user is not within the local wire center in which the call could be made without a switch. A second consideration is the RUS “middle mile” funding that will be available for backhaul purposes. All in all there seems to be little question that the use of a mesh in taking away the need for 4G backhaul is being overhyped to some extent. However, there will be a noticeable impact on the backhaul market opportunity. For more information on this topic, please see the latest issue in our 4G Backhaul Network Strategies Monthly, “Capacity Demands/Solutions at Verizon Wireless & AT&T Mobility.” The report can be purchased directly from GLG.
Samuel Greenholtz consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
