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Working with Canadian satellite operator Telesat, TIM Brasil explored the potential for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite to provide backhaul for 4G mobile data
TIM Brasil and Telesat have announced the completion of a five-day trial in Rio de Janeiro exploring the use of satellites for 4G backhaul.
Various applications were tested including streaming video at 1080p, videoconferencing, VoLTE, and interface compatibility. The connection was achieved using an 85 cm Intellian parabolic antenna for uplink and downlink.
The results appear to have been promising. Making use of Telesat’s Phase One LEO satellite, the pair achieved average round-trip latency of 38ms.
“Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite performance delivered mobile experiences comparable to terrestrial networks and we believe Telesat Lightspeed, with a mobile-optimized hardware ecosystem, has the potential to become a core component in our future infrastructure,” said Silma Palmeria, director of architecture, innovation and technology at TIM Brasil.
For Telesat, these results bode well for the company’s Lightspeed LEO project, which will see the satellite operator launch launch more advanced satellites in the next two years. As a result of these tests, TIM Brasil is suggesting that the Lightspeed constellation could play a larger role in their operations in years to come.
“Through this testing program, we believe Telesat Lightspeed is a promising technology to expand the geographic reach of our 4G/LTE and 5G networks. Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite performance delivered mobile experiences comparable to our terrestrial networks and we believe Telesat Lightspeed, with a mobile-optimized hardware ecosystem, has the potential to become a core component in our future infrastructure,” said Palmeria.
Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation is planned to involve 298 next-gen satellites that will launch over the next two years, with commercial services expected by the second half of 2023.
Interest in LEO satellite connectivity has been growing in recent years. The biggest and most high profile example is, of course, SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which already has around 1,400 devices in orbit with plans for thousands more. Amazon’s Kuiper project is scheduled to launch around 3,000 devices, while the UK government, alongside Bharti Airtel, recently rescued OneWeb from bankruptcy.
Recently, NTT has even announced trials for satellite data centres, aiming to conduct data processing in space to reduce time and energy consumption.
A new connectivity space race may be brewing and the operators that explore this potential first could well find themselves with a significant advantage.
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