Parameters of Backhaul Technology - By: Jose Diaz

The choice of backhaul technology must take account of such parameters as capacity, cost, reach, and the need for such resources as: frequency spectrum of a time-domain signal, a representation of that signal in the frequency domain; political fiber, a flexible, transparent fiber made of glass (silica) or plastic, slightly thicker than a human hair; wiring; or rights of way, a strip of land that is generated, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. Backhaul technologies include: free-space optical (FSO) communication, an optical communication technology that uses light propagating in free space to transmit data for telecommunications or computer networking; point-to-point microwave radio relay transmission (terrestrial or, in some cases, by satellite), a technology for transmitting digital and analog signals, such as long-distance telephone calls, television programs, and computer data, between two locations on a line of sight radio path; point-to-multipoint (a term that is used in the telecommunications field which refers to communication which is accomplished via a specific and distinct tupe of one-to-many connection, providing multiple paths from a single location to multiple locations) microwave-access technologies, such as: LMDS, a broadband wireless technology originally designed for digital television transmission (DTV); Wi-Fi, a popular technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data wirelessly (using radio waves) over a computer network, including high-speed Internet connections; WiMAX (“Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access”), a wireless communications standard designed to provide 30 to 40 megabit-per-second data rates, with the 2011 update providing up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations; etc., can also function for backhauling purposes; DSL (“digital subscriber line,” originally “Digital subscriber loop”) variants, a family of technologies that provide internet access by transmitting digital over the wires or a local telephone network, such as: ADSL (“Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line,”), a type of digital communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voice band modem can provide; and SHDSL (“Single-pair high-speed digital subscriber line), a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voice band modem can provide; PDH, or “Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy,” is a technology used in telecommunications networks to transport large quantities of data over digital transport equipment such as fibre optic and microwave radio systems, and SDH (“Synchronous Digital Hierarchy”)/SONET (“Synchronous Optical Networking”) interfaces, or standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs), such as (fractional) E1/T1, E3, T3, STM-1/OC-3, etc; and Ethernet, a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks (LANs).

Backhaul capacity can also be leased from another network operator, in which case that other network operator generally selects the technology.

See: Internet From Satellite