Cellular backhaul by satellite

Satellite are widely used today for cellular base station backhaul when the distance between the base station equipment and the core of the network is too large for microwave to be economically viable. While satellite backhaul for 2G networks is focused on reducing the bandwidth required to transport voice, backhaul optimization for 3G/4G includes header data compression, web and video acceleration, caching. 

Typical applications of 2G/3G/4G cellular backhaul by satellite include:
-          broadband coverage extension in remote area
-          backup of terrestrial broadband links
-          disaster recovery, handling of special event
-          offload of microwave links for peak hours traffic

Figure below illustrates satellite backhaul towards 2G BTS, 3G NodeB and 4G e-NodeB.