Broadband/Connectivity News Operators Satellite

Kacific conducts first mobile backhaul over Geo-Stationary Ka-band satellite

Kacific offers cost-effective mobile backhaul solutions across terrestrial links or secure public internet tunnels on its new high-powered Kacific1 Ka-band satellite.

Kacific Broadband Satellites Group (Kacific) has successfully conducted the first Geo-Stationary Ka-band mobile backhaul test in the Pacific Islands. The ten-minute call between Kacific CEO Christian Patouraux in Singapore and a large mobile operator in the Melanesia region utilised the recently launched Kacific1 HTS satellite.

The trial was set up using an existing mobile cell site and connected by ethernet into one of Kacific’s Newtec MDM2510 VSAT modems, a 3W transceiver and an inexpensive 1.2m dish. A layer 3 accelerated TCP/IP link via the Kacific1 Ka-Band HTS satellite, then via Kacific Broken Hill Teleport, in Australia, was then established.

From there onto the public internet, across an undersea cable to the mobile operator’s location on a Pacific island, a point-to-point GRE tunnel was established within minutes between the 3G Base Station and the 3G Core (SGSN/GGSN).

Commenting on the trial, Adrian Potter, Deputy CTO and Head of Ground Infrastructure, Kacific, said: “This trial demonstrates that it is possible to rapidly connect remote locations to existing mobile networks using inexpensive, off-the-shelf equipment. During the call, we were impressed by the call clarity and the speed with which the voices were relayed.”