page_title: Backhaul (telecommunications)
section_title: Available backhaul technologies
hierarchical_section_title: Backhaul (telecommunications) / Available backhaul technologies
caption_attribution_description: English: CableFree Microwave Backhaul solution in the Middle East.
context_page_description: In a hierarchical telecommunications network, the backhaul portion of the network comprises the intermediate links between the core network, or backbone network, and the small subnetworks at the edge of the network.
  In contracts pertaining to such networks, backhaul is the obligation to carry packets to and from that backbone network. A business definition of backhaul is the commercial wholesale bandwidth provider who offers quality of service guarantees. It appears most often in telecommunications trade literature in this sense, whereby the backhaul connection is defined not technically but by who operates and manages it, and who takes legal responsibility for the connection or uptime.
  In both the technical and commercial definitions, backhaul generally refers to the side of the network that communicates with the global Internet, paid for at wholesale commercial access rates to or at an Internet exchange point or other core network access location. Sometimes middle mile networks exist between the customer's own LAN and those exchanges. This can be a local WAN connection.
context_section_description: The choice of backhaul technology must take account of such parameters as capacity, cost, reach, and the need for such resources as frequency spectrum, optical fiber, wiring, or rights of way.
  Generally, backhaul solutions can largely be categorised into wired (leased lines or copper/fibre) or wireless (point-to-point, point-to-multipoint over high-capacity radio links). Wired is usually a very expensive solution and often impossible to deploy in remote areas, hence making wireless a more suitable and/or a viable option. Multi-hop wireless architecture can overcome the hurdles of wired solutions to create efficient large coverage areas and with growing demand in emerging markets where often cost is a major factor in deciding technologies, a wireless backhaul solution is able to offer 'carrier-grade' services, whereas this is not easily feasible with wired backhaul connectivity.
  Backhaul technologies include:
  Free-space optical (FSO)
  Point-to-point microwave radio relay transmission (terrestrial or, in some cases, by satellite)
  Point-to-multipoint microwave-access technologies, such as LMDS, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, etc., can also function for backhauling purposes
  DSL variants, such as ADSL, VDSL  and SHDSL
  PDH and SDH/SONET interfaces, such as (fractional) E1/T1, E3, T3, STM-1/OC-3, etc.
  Ethernet
  VoIP telephony over dedicated and public IP networks
  Backhaul capacity can also be leased from another network operator, in which case that other network operator generally selects the technology being used, though this can be limited to fewer technologies if the requirement is very specific such as short-term links for emergency/disaster relief or for public events, where cost and time would be major factors and would immediately rule out wired solutions, unless pre-existing infrastructure was readily accessible or available.
caption: CableFree Microwave Backhaul links deployed for mobile operators in the Middle East. These microwave links typically carry a mix of Ethernet /IP, TDM (Nx E1) and SDH traffic to connect the Cellular Base Stations (BTS) to the central sites of the cellular operator. Such microwave links used to carry 2xE1 (4Mbit/s) now carry 400Mbit/s or more, using modern 1024QAM or higher modulation schemes.
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