A cell phone tower. Photo: Ryan Greenberg, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.

[Via Satellite 06-01-2016] VT iDirect and SpeedCast International have demonstrated GTP/LTE traffic being transmitted at speeds above 350Mbps on the downstream and 90Mbps on the upstream in lab tests with a single iDirect SatHaul terminal. This proof-of-concept demonstrates how satellite can help Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) extend the reach of their services. Cellular backhaul enables MNOs to scale their networks to cover larger geographic regions.

With test results hitting 350Mbps on the downstream, iDirect’s Digital Video Broadcast-Satellite Second Generation X (DVB-S2X) technology provides a proof-of-concept that essentially doubles previous levels of speed achieved in the market, according to the company.

“After witnessing a new throughput record for GTP/LTE traffic being transmitted over a single iDirect terminal, we are excited about the benefits it can provide to our customers in terms of speed and efficiency. We continue to see growing demand from mobile operators and such technological advancements will be key to ensure our continuous success in meeting operators’ needs,” said Pierre-Jean Beylier, CEO of SpeedCast.