MegaFon tests satellite backhaul for conventional mobile base stations

A demonstration at Moscow’s Digital Solutions forum routed data from Krasnoyarsk Territory through a YADRO station and a low-orbit satellite constellation.

At the Digital Solutions forum in Moscow, MegaFon, Bureau 1440 and YADRO demonstrated a satellite backhaul link for a mobile base station. A live feed came from Krasnoyarsk Territory. A YADRO station provided radio access for subscriber devices, while a satellite terminal carried data from the remote site through a low-orbit constellation to the operator’s network core.

Phones still connected to a ground station rather than directly to a satellite. The satellite link replaced the terrestrial connection between that station and the operator’s network. The arrangement could serve remote sites where fibre or radio-relay links are difficult to build. Companies presented it as a test; no commercial rollout schedule was reported.