2014 7th Advanced Satellite Multimedia Systems Conference and the 13th Signal Processing for Space Communications

Workshop (ASMS/SPSC)

5G Resilient Backhaul Using Integrated Satellite

Networks
Simon Watts Osianoh Glenn Aliu
Avanti Consulting Fraunhofer-Fokus
Avanti Communications Ltd. Fraunhofer Institute
London, UK St Agustin, Germany

Abstract— This paper looks at the implications, benefits and

opportunities for integrating satellite links into the Future B. Business cases
Internet specifically to provide resilient backhauls in the 5G Given that most satellite communication equipment is at
networks that will emerge. This analysis is based on the study least partly proprietary it will be critical to build commercially
performed under ESA ARTES 1 "Service delivery over viable business cases for the operators and equipment
integrated satellite and terrestrial networks", contract manufacturers.
4000106656/12/NL/US. This study considered the integration of
satellite networks with the Future Internet and 4G networks. C. Awareness
This paper extrapolates this ESA study to providing 5G It is fundamental to ensure that terrestrial operators
resilient backhaul links. It identifies a number of operator and understand the potential for satellite is not limited to the most
user benefits for such integration and shows that modern satellite remote or hard to reach locations. The satellite operators need
networks can be readily integrated to support the emerging to understand what roles they can fulfil in the evolving internet
standards. to develop appropriate sales strategies and product sets.

Keywords—Future Internet, Satellites, 5G, Software Defined

Networks, Backhaul, Integration, ESA
II. INTEGRATING SATELLITE INTO TERRESTRIAL
NETWORKS
I. INTRODUCTION The surge in data demand triggered the evolution from
circuit switched networks, to Next Generation networks such
The growth in data consumption by individuals shows no as 5G requires a review of all parts of the networks. The Future
sign of slowing down (e.g. in [1] and [2]) and new solutions Internet (FI) can be described as a revolution to
are being considered to support this. A recent ESA study [3] communications systems compared to the gradual systematic
considered the integration of satellite and Future Internet upgrade and enhancements of previous networks. The main
networks and found many opportunities where they can work drivers are the need to have an all IP based network, a flat
together to enhance the end user experience. When comparing architecture that will be able to support different types of
terrestrial mobile network and satellite communication access networks and support an end to end transport
developments it was found that “The general trend observed is mechanism. The new paradigm is focussed towards service
that satellite networks align with current developments in delivery with assured quality of service.
terrestrial networks albeit with a small lag. This model would
however change in 5G as concerted efforts are aligned towards A. Software Defined Networks
involving major players in the satellite domain to be actively
involved in the requirement specification phase as well as The Software Defined Network (SDN) approach provides
standardization of interfaces.” network virtualization enabling an easier and efficient
management of large networks. SDNs address the growth in
The following key areas were identified: data volume and inherent network complexity by providing a
toolset to ensure scalability, agility and stability. In the specific
A. Interfaces context of future network architectures and its advantages
The critical areas identified include first and foremost towards enabling an integrated system with other access
interfaces that ensure the edge connections of the satellite networks, SDN provides a layered architecture for traffic
networks can accept signalling requests conforming to the forwarding functionality. The ability to reconfigure and
terrestrial standards and communicate these to both the OSS virtualization of the network is important for traffic forwarding
for commercial and business matters and the NMS for the in the data plane. Like many modern networks the transport
service level management. and control planes are separate; the former handles the user
traffic and the control plane manages the synchronization of the
underlying network elements.

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B. Access Backhaul Trends

The growth in the volume of data in today’s terrestrial
networks and the forecasts for an astronomical increase made
operators realise that new technologies like 4G and 5G will not
necessarily meet all the challenges of providing the required
network capacity to meet traffic demands. This drives the need
to integrate other access technologies, in-building solutions
using femtocells and outdoor small cells to supplement existing
macro-cells. The critical part of these solutions is the type of
access backhaul. This is dependent on the type of traffic,
capacity objectives, coverage requirements and the cost.
3GPP introduced a Selective IP Traffic Offload (SIPTO)
[4] which provides a mechanism for certain types of traffic to
be offloaded locally, thus avoiding associated costs with
tunnelling directly to the central packet gateway. SIPTO helps
the operator optimise traffic flows in its network by specifying Figure 1: High level backhaul architecture
certain services to be offloaded in local service gateways and
local packet data network gateways. The traffic separation 3) Machine to machine links
before the point of backhaul presents a sweet spot for There are many applications of satellite providing machine
integration for other type of access networks such as satellite to machine networks, with deployments from small remote
systems as low priority traffic can be carried over cheaper or monitoring networks in remote locations to, as an example,
bandwidth efficient transport solutions. over 30,000 sites in a single satellite network providing always
on links between the UK lottery terminals and their central host
The second SIPTO use case identified is the delivery of rich computer sites.
mobile content by using Content Delivery Networks (CDNs).
This is particularly important as more applications support 4) Reducing service level latency
mobile TV and multimedia content on smartphones/tablets. A key role for satellite networks in future could be
Existing solutions in satellite networks use the CDN approach delivering content to cache servers close to the point of
for video delivery architecture and the integration of this with consumption. This will reduce the 'service-level latency' by
terrestrial networks has huge technical implications and would ensuring the requested content is available from the local cache
facilitate benefits for terrestrial operators in addressing their – service-level latency referring to the speed with which the
growing concerns for the surge in mobile data traffic. requested content is available to the end user.
C. Roles for integrating satellite networks Satellites are extremely effective at ensuring the same
content is available at multiple locations with their high
1) End user links throughput quasi-error free forward links.
Many different roles can be envisaged including the
commonly known role providing end-user links to remote and III. SATELLITES PROVIDING RESILIENT BACKHAULS
mobile locations that are not able to obtain connections through
other means. A. Resilient backhaul architecture
2) Backhaul links This scenario refers to cellular backhaul via satellite links to
A related role is providing backhaul connections to serve remote and isolated Radio Area Network (RAN)
communities in more remote locations – current examples locations along with special events and emergency situations
include: due to natural or human disasters. In addition the resilient
backhaul will be capable of supporting capacity demand peaks;
i) Providing backhaul links to 2G/3G base stations via the satellite link potentially being used to supplement a limited
geo-stationary satellites and proof of concept capacity terrestrial link (FS) during peak-time or to replace it in
demonstrations of 4G connections [5]; case of failure or maintenance. This scheme can be expected to
ii) Providing fibre alternative connections to equatorial optimise the deployment cost of backhaul infrastructure and to
locations using medium earth orbit satellites. improve the network resiliency.

These architectures are illustrated in Figure 1. The implementation of this would require the selection of a
functional split between the terrestrial network gateway and the
satellite earth station, as well as the dynamic deployment of
such a split when the main backhaul changes. Depending on
the split, different control protocols within the core network
may be further adapted to the different characteristics of
respectively the FS link and the satellite link while maintaining
the same connectivity service and applications delivery.
Handover between the FS and the satellite link will need to be

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Workshop (ASMS/SPSC)

supported, including the management of the dynamic network The consumer devices look similar to a Wi-Fi router. They are
functionality placement and interconnection. connected by co-axial cable to an outdoor antenna which with
modern HTS is likely to be slightly over 74cm. The
B. Overlaying capabilities professional devices tend to look like a small conventional
The satellite links will support multicast to multiple RANs. router and with modern HTS they will tend to use an antenna
This multicast could take different forms such as the following of between 1m and 1.2m.
and shown in Figure 2:
E. Management Systems
i) Live streams of major TV sporting events for onward A modern satellite network is capable of assigning
multicast over the RAN; bandwidth to different sites based on service plans which can
ii) Over the top (OTT) TV content for caching at the define parameters such as data usage, data rates, class of
RAN; service and many similar parameters. The satellite network
NMS allows these parameters to be changed from time to time.
iii) Major software patches such as a smartphone update Integration into modern networks will require an adaptation
for caching at the RAN. layer at the Northbound Interface (NBI) satellite Network
Management System (NMS) to communicate the standard
message primitives.
Typical examples showing the relevant flexibility of
modern broadband satellite service include, but are not limited
to:
 Pay as you go packages [8] ;
 Backup services [9].
Whilst the satellite NMSs tend to be proprietary and defined by
the manufacturer there are many instances where they have
been integrated into large Operations Support Systems (OSSs).
The ETSI standards body that creates many of the sector
standards has defined a number of standards including [10],
[11].
The TM Forum is a global trade association that helps its
Figure 2: High level multicast architecture members “reduce cost and risk, improve business agility and
grow their business through a wealth of knowledge, tools,
The satellite distribution network will need to follow standards, training and practical advice” [12].
specific cloud network and virtualization standards to integrate They define a Multi-Technology Operations Systems
with 4G multicast solutions and support the network enablers Interface (MTOSI) [13] which is an XML-based Operations
of 5G for multicast. The content can be a mix of that for a System (OS)-to-OS interface suite developed by the TM Forum
wider audience (for example national news) and more localised that is part of the Information Framework-based Standardized
information such tourist information across a smaller area with Interfaces. The Network Management System-to-Element
multiple RANs. Management System communications is a special case and is
The main benefit of this architecture is reducing the service defined by the Multi-Technology Network Management
level latency when accessing rich content cost effectively. (MTNM) standards. MTOSI uses a single interface
infrastructure and applies the same patterns across multiple
technologies.
C. High Throughput Satellites
Today’s High Throughput Satellites (HTS) are capable of The Interface model consists of a generic view which is
delivering broadband capacity for a few hundred thousand end derived and developed at different abstraction levels with
users (e.g. [7]) at sustained speeds in excess of 20Mbps (e.g. different interactions patterns, in order to cover both the OS-
[18]) direct to the end user and in excess of 50Mbps to OS fine grained interactions and the coarse grained services,
professional locations. focusing on network resources management as well as on
services management. An OS in this context is any
The next generation of HTS currently being considered will management system that exhibits Element Management Layer
be able to deliver next generation access speeds (up to (EML), Network Management (NML) and/or Service
100Mbps) to a greater number of end users at the data Management Layer (SML) functionality.
consumption demands predicted for 2020.
The intention of this model can be summarised as:
D. Customer Premise Equipment  Reduce the OSS “integration tax”, i.e., the cost of
The current generation of Customer Premise Equipment integrating and maintaining systems;
(CPE) consists of small integrated satellite modem and router.

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 Enable service providers (via the production of open The curved arrow joining partway along represents the core
management interfaces) to mix and match OSSs from service value chain that the satellite resilient backhaul link
various suppliers based on factors such as price, complements.
quality, and functionality;
The key new relationship will be between the
 Increase interoperability by increasing the supply of interconnection service providers and the satellite service
interchangeable components and applications; providers – these may well build on existing relationships
where the satellite service provider already has a connection for
 Speed time to market for new services and for services like satellite broadband delivery.
supplier products.
The baseline value chain for delivery of content to the end
In this context MTOSI [13] provides a possible standards- user is somewhat complex with advent of CDNs. Figure 4
based framework for connecting the satellite network NMS shows where a basic Content Delivery Network (CDN) will fit
with the terrestrial network Operations Support Systems in a typical content deliver value chain.
(OSSs). This allows the processes related to site management
to be automated.
Another standard that may well be relevant is that being
developed to provide SDNs – OpenFlow – now being managed Figure 4: A simplified value chain for content delivery with CDN
by the Open Networking Foundation [14]. This will allow
services to be re-routed, added and removed automatically as The content owner will aggregate the content from one or
and when required. more providers. They will host the content on one or more
server farms. The end user buys internet access from their
IV. VALUE CHAINS AND STAKEHOLDERS service provider, amongst other things they will access the
content which may be free or may be paid for. In either case
A. Value chains the end user has a direct relationship with the content owner.
It is important to understand the relationship between the The service provider gets Internet connectivity from one or
different actors in delivering service to the end user. As this more backbone providers (directly or through peering at
integration of satellite and terrestrial networks requires new Internet exchanges). There are two main reasons CDNs are
ways of inter-working it is perhaps most important to consider implemented:
the different organisations involved.  The service provider may employ a CDN for
The FI ecosystem is inevitably not yet completely defined. better access to the content and/or to reduce
This ecosystem undergoes continuous change as a consequence backbone costs – this is an access centric CDN.
of steady adaptations, optimizations and innovations taking This will be driven by the telco service demands.
place in the supply chains and in the individual value chains of
 The content owner may employ the CDN to
the participating stakeholders. There are three main value enhance their service to the end user – this is a
chains, i.e. consumer Terminal Equipment (TE), Telco services content centric CDN [15]. This will be driven by
and Over-The-Top services. The first of these is not germane the OTT service provider.
to this analysis as the choice and specification of the TE is
driven by the other two rather than the other way round. These reasons are illustrated in Figure 5 below.
The key value chain is the telco services. The following
figure (Figure 3) shows the value chain for supplying services
to end users.

Figure 5: Access and content centric CDNs compared

A likely scenario considers the case of the service provider

being a mobile operator wish to move the content as close to
the network edge as possible to reduce the load on the backhaul
connections from the RAN to their core network. This then
can be considered as an access centric CDN.
Figure 3: Value chain for delivering service over resilient backhaul
The key to consider the satellite delivery to SIPTO CDN
host devices is to consider who benefits commercially – in this

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case the mobile service provider. It is likely they will use a needs to be separately reported. Where multicast cached
system integrator to deploy the upgrade the systems at the cell content is delivered the SLA should use language reflecting the
sites. This then suggests a value chain similar to Figure reliable and timely delivery of content to the storage devices
3where the Backbone provider connects directly to the CDN. rather than network uptime. There should be tools to manage
and confirm this delivery. This is more relevant than, say
The end user benefits by improved latency to access the SLAs on meeting bit error rate or latency targets.
content when it is cached. The mobile service provider can
also benefit if they add multicast streaming to their end user
bundle. V. BENEFITS

B. Stakeholders A. Benefits for the operators

When analysing stakeholder roles it is common (e.g. [16], 1) Availability and top-ip bandwidth at low cost
[17]) to consider four main categories of stakeholder and how Each resilient link can share a common pool of satellite
they might best be treated. capacity that can be shared across a number of remote
locations. For example with a modern HTS having multiple
spot beams of typically 250km diameter this is an area of
almost 200,000 km2 which could deliver service to hundreds of
RANs.
2) Reach
A well-known benefit of satellite is reach sites that are
otherwise hard to reach such as rural locations and those on the
move like bots, trains and planes.
When considering resilient backhaul this can be extended to
those sites which do have some terrestrial capability where it is
Figure 6: Stakeholder management not cost effective to add a resilient connection to improve
reliability or add extra bandwidth to cope with the ever
growing end user demands.
The key stakeholders in the cell site integrator will be those
tasked with delivering the low cost reliable connections. It is 3) Integrated platform
likely that the implementations will tend to be fairly similar Having an integrated platform makes it a simple matter to
increasing the role of product development. The key incorporate resilient satellite backhaul links into the network
stakeholders are likely to be the product director and the wherever and for whatever reason needed.
product architect. They will best represent the needs of the
purchasing party in the mobile service provider. B. Benefits for the end user
There will be other key players depending in the 1) Service level latency
organisation. Depending on the organisation and In most mobile cases the key requirement of the typical end
circumstances the project director and the system architect can user is rapid access to the content they have requested.
still be influential. A structured complex selling technique will Satellite resilient backhauls can help this in a variety of ways:
be required to identify these people, their roles and their needs.
i) Add extra capacity to the link when demand peaks;
C. Service delivery ii) Ensuring common content is cached locally for
The key drivers will be to provide a suitable business model immediate delivery;
where the spend profile matches the available funding and
where the Service Level Agreement (SLA) matches the iii) Providing multicast content streams to multiple
business needs. For example; the upfront costs spread over the RANs.
agreement term if requested, or conversely some of the 2) Reliable service
ongoing maintenance may be brought forward in the form of an
extended warranty depending on the available funds. End users increasingly expect to able to access content
wherever and whenever they want. Adding low cost satellite
Good verifiable measurement of data transmitted will be resilient backhaul links can provides a significant improvement
needed if the service is providing temporary connections or in service availability. The gain in availability is hard to
part of the fees are usage based. This becomes more critical if quantify in general terms as this will depend significantly on
different class of services are supported, for example data the circumstances. The satellite link can, in many cost
carried at a high priority is more valuable than low priority best effective circumstances, deliver a service level around 99.9%.
effort data.
If the links are being used for backup of overflow then SLA
needs to reflect that the required bandwidth was provided when
needed. Where different priority levels are supported each level

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VI. DEVELOPMENTS NEEDED ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Development will be required at two major interfaces: Service delivery over integrated satellite and terrestrial
networks.
i) To provide the link to assign bandwidth to the resilient
link to a specific RAN; ESTEC Contract Number 4000106656/12/NL/US.
ii) To integrate the local caches at the RANs in to the
CDNs.
REFERENCES
In both cases the satellite already has the majority of the
[1] Cisco Visual Networking Index,
network management tools required so the key is to adapt the
[2] Sandvine Global Internet Pheomena,
satellite management system’s northbound interfaces to meet
the emerging standards for example the MTOSI and SDN [3] ARTES 1 study project “Service delivery over integrated satellite and
terrestrial networks”,
standards mentioned earlier.
[4] 3GPP working group “Local IP Access and Selected IP Traffic Offload”,
Work on integrating satellite multicast into the CDNs of the [5] Avanti & Quortus achieve world-first in delivery of 4G over satellite,
future will also be needed. By developing these standards [6] ViaSat whitepaper “High Capacity Satellite” ,
issues surrounding rights management should be readily [7] Resller web page “Broadbandwhereever”,
addressed. [8] TechWeek Europe report “Avanti Launches Pay-As–You-Go Satellite
Broadband”,
VII. CONCLUSIONS [9] Avanti product “Business Internet Contunity”,
[10] ETSI TS 102 672, “Satellite Earth Stations and Systems (SES);
The next generation of HTS can provide flexible high Broadband Satellite Multimedia (BSM); Management Functional
performance low cost capacity to provide integrated resilient Architecture”, November 2009.
connections for the emerging 5G links to RANs. These [11] ETSI TS 102 673, “Satellite Earth Stations and Systems (SES);
resilient links can be used to improve link availability and Broadband Satellite Multimedia (BSM); Performance Parameters”,
supplement bandwidth at peak demand. By adding a multicast November 2009.
overlay these resilient links can help populate caches located [12] Website page “About the TMForum” ,
close to the end user. [13] Index to the standardized Interfaces & APIs (MTOSI) ,
[14] Open Networking home page et seq,
Work will be required to ensure the northbound interface of [15] Wetzel consulting whitepaper “CDN Business Models - Not All Cast
the satellite network management system conforms to the from the Same Mold”, Rebecca Wetzel,
emerging standards for 5G, SDNs and CDNs. If this can be [16] Staholder map web site – page on Stakeholder analysis,
done then satellite can form an intrinsic and highly beneficial [17] Miller-Heiman home page et seq ,
part of the 5G specifications. [18] Eutelsat product description for Ka band professional services.

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