Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Higor de Padua Vieira Neto

Telesat and Brazilian telco TIM Brasil jointly tested Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) backhaul, reporting successful 4G mobile data traffic performance. 

The tests, announced Thursday, were conducted over five days in Rio de Janeiro, with an 85 cm Intellian parabolic antenna to uplink and downlink to a Phase 1 Telesat LEO satellite. The companies report that they were able to efficiently run applications including 1080p YouTube video streaming, video conferencing, WhatsApp voice over LTE and interface compatibility without interference or breaks. The teams measured 4G mobile data traffic performance of an average 38 ms round-trip latency. 

Telesat said these tests show the potential for its Lightspeed LEO constellation to connect remote communities in Brazil through backhaul via satellite. 

“Coverage and network reliability are critically important to mobile customers, which can be challenging to deliver in a country as large as Brazil,” said Mauro Wajnberg, General Manager, Telesat Brasil. “Telesat Lightspeed backhaul connectivity will be transformative for Mobile Network Operators like TIM Brasil, who are seeking cost-effective, enterprise-grade backhaul solutions to affordably connect all potential subscribers, no matter where they live.” 

A TIM Brasil executive said the service was comparable to terrestrial, and LEO satellites may become part of the telco’s offerings in the future. 

“Through this testing program, we believe Telesat Lightspeed is a promising technology to expand the geographic reach of our 4G/LTE and 5G networks. Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite performance delivered mobile experiences comparable to our terrestrial networks and we believe Telesat Lightspeed, with a mobile-optimized hardware ecosystem, has the potential to become a core component in our future infrastructure,” said Silmar Palmeira, director of Architecture, Innovation and Technology at TIM Brasil.