Cable Operators Will Find Success in Mobile Wireless Backhaul

Mobile wireless operators will continue to utilize backhaul solutions from cable operators at an ever-increasing pace during the oncoming years, a new Visant Strategies study finds. As mobile wireless operators in the United States continue to upgrade to 3.5G and 4G systems the need for increasing backhaul capacity at the edge of the network and between middle network elements is a perfect match for the fiber plant many cable operators have deployed in urban and dense suburban areas.

"A strong mix of fiber, copper and microwave technologies are now being used for backhaul," said Andy Fuertes of Visant Strategies. "But mobile wireless operators have to look for more means to obtain higher backhaul capacities and quickly in some cases. Cable operators can offer needed backhaul at both the edge of the network, where the need is now, and in the middle network, where the need is in the very near future."

Their report finds the cable operator share of the mobile wireless backhaul market will grow by more than five-fold by 2016. By 2015, the report states, cable operators will be receiving over $ 3 billion in annual backhaul service revenues.

"US mobile wireless operators are in the midst of serving a data-hungry audience," said Larry Swasey of Visant Strategies. "With 3.5G and 4G being deployed, wireless devices employing more capacity crunching apps and voice minutes going up, backhaul capacity in all areas of the network is a concern. Cable operators like microwave, fiber and copper vendors, will benefit from this concern."