Asia-Pacific: A prime next-gen backhaul target

As the Asia-Pacific market continues to expand the availability of wireless services, it's not hard to imagine that the need for next-gen wireless backhaul will follow. A new report from analyst firm IDC says that Asian wireless operators will build more than 3 million base stations and more than 1.8 million cell sites by 2012 and that over half of those sites will leverage a fiber-based Ethernet connection. By 2011, IDC said that urban High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) will be connected to fiber in most markets, while the majority of urban WiMAX and LTE base stations will be connected to fiber by 2012. However, microwave and fixed WiMAX connections will be used for wireless backhaul in areas where fiber is unavailable.  

Not surprisingly, IDC says a host of multimedia and data services are driving the adoption of IP/Ethernet and fiber-based backhaul. "A number of leading mobile carriers in Asia/Pacific, in countries such as Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Philippines and Singapore, are already starting to connect parts of their metropolitan 3G/HSPA backhauls with carrier Ethernet over fiber," said Bill Rojas, research director for IDC's Asia/Pacific Telecommunications Research. "The main driver of this transformation is the need for mobile operators to provide scalable, high-bandwidth, Web 2.0 video and audio content, and Internet access services for both mobile and fixed users in incremental capex outlays."

For more:
- Telecom Engine has this article [1]

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