Mobile Backhaul

Chapter 10

Packet Backhaul Solutions

Erik Salo and Juha Salmelin

Mobile traffic growth, especially the data traffic growth, makes transition to packet based MBH networks indispensable, as neither TDM nor ATM technologies can in the longer term offer economic solutions for the high transport capacities needed. However, there is no single packet based MBH solution that fits all, and there are many possible evolution paths to get to a desired network solution.

Many technical alternatives and different requirements, often contradicting requirements, need to be taken into account in creating and optimizing a packet based MBH solution, and in formulating its evolution steps. Most of the attention shall be directed to the MBH network lower tiers, to the MBH access network and even to its lower parts, as most of the backhaul costs lie in the lower access networks.