Today, it is estimated there are 1 billion people living and working in non-urban communities who remain unconnected. Thousands of remote enterprises operate inefficiently through the lack of basic communications services. Countless remote villages remain cut off from each other and the rest of the world.

Altobridge now offers a commercially viable solution for delivering GSM coverage to these communities, that enables the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) to unlock a new incremental revenue stream from this previously untapped subscriber base.

Fully Managed Service

In emerging markets, MNOs are focussed on major urban centres where the greatest demand and stiffest competition exists. Remote communities, not traditionally associated with revenue-generating potential, are often overlooked or under-prioritised. Altobridge has shown that high ARPUs, in some cases up to twice the national average, are available from remote enterprise sites where a commercially viable business case is attainable when set-up and running costs are reduced to the levels Altobridge has achieved.

Through its Fully Managed Service, Altobridge leases the entire solution to the MNO, installs and commissions the sites ready for service, and manages the operation & maintenance of the non-urban network, all for a fixed monthly price. The benefits to the MNO are clear:

• First to market in remote community sites attracting the highest ARPUs
• No initial capital expenditure (CAPEX)
• No drain on internal resources
• Predictable operating costs (OPEX) through a fixed monthly fee
• Operator freed to focus on core business, e.g. strategic decision making, innovative services and customer experience
• Risk shifted to the service provider

GSM/VSAT Bundling

Many remote enterprise and village communities have poor, or no, communication services. For the ones that do, these can be inefficient or expensive.

Thousands of VSAT terminals are already deployed in hard-to-reach areas of the globe, typically for data applications. Altobridge, through its pioneering R&D in the aeronautical and maritime spaces, has developed a way to use this existing VSAT deployment as backhaul to deliver carrier-grade GSM services.

Partnering with the VSAT service provider, Altobridge identifies VSAT deployments in population centres outside of GSM coverage and delivers our bundled GSM / VSAT service to the MNO to provide cost-effective mobile voice and data services at these locations. For sites with no pre-existing VSAT service, this is simply introduced at the time of the GSM installation.

Using the local deployment teams of the VSAT service provider, cost is maintained at a competitive level while local employment is generated creating a sustainable model.

Technology

The patented Altobridge Local Connectivity™ platform (Local Switching), removes the expense of a double satellite hop for local mobile-to-mobile calls by switching them at the remote site rather than backhauling them to and from the network. As shown in our Local Connectivity diagram, local calls are routed at the base station while signalling is transferred across the network to the MSC. There is no impact on the standard signalling protocols of the core network, or processes such as billing and O&M, which continue to work in the normal way. This seamless integration is a crucial differentiator from other systems. The Altobridge solution also supports Legal Intercept, a complex issue when switching locally and a feature not supported by every vendor.

Altobridge is the only supplier whose solution offers ‘On-Demand’ utilisation of the Abis Interface. The patented Split Architecture™ eliminates the use of expensive satellite backhaul when no calls are being made. The solution implements the Radio Resource (RR) function of the BSC at the remote site. This removes the need for an expensive, dedicated but under-utilised BSC on site and improves the Call Set-up Success Rate (CSSR). Remote sites are aggregated to a single BSC at the central location, optimising MSC cost and reducing management overhead.  Click here to see the combined Local Connectivity and Split Architecture diagram.

Together with the industry’s best-in-class optimisation of the Abis interface, which is implemented in native IP and includes cost-saving features not available from other suppliers, Altobridge can claim the world’s most cost-effective solution for remote communities.

Deployment

Altobridge design is based on a principle that a lightweight, small-footprint solution can be deployed in hours and is less costly to transport.

Choosing a sectioned pole, rather than a tower construction for the GSM antenna, keeps the transportable length and volume to a minimum while making it ideal for transfer by ordinary road or 4×4 vehicle. Low power consumption reduces the size of the solar panel required, further aiding deployment and transport.

The low cost nature of the solution also makes it ideal for sites requiring coverage under Universal Service Obligations (USO).

Green Power

Altobridge offers the lowest power consumption in the industry making it ideal for off-grid deployment using the latest green energy solutions including solar and wind. Electricity generated and AC-mains supplies are also supported.

The Altobridge solution is rich with features, developed from the ground up, to minimise power consumption. During periods of limited use, e.g. overnight, the VSAT modem can be powered down automatically until traffic resumes. The unique Split Architecture™ saves power by eliminating data transfer over the satellite link when no calls are being made while other features enable power saving while calls are in progress.

Altobridge is also on the select vendor list on the GSMA ‘Green Power for Mobile’ site.

Specifications

Lowest Satellite Bandwidth in the industry:

• 0kbps when no calls active
• 5-8kbps per active voice channel
• 42kbps per fully-loaded TRX (typical)
• Reduces to 20kbps per TRX with 30+ site deployments
• Further reduction with Local Connectivity, e.g. 25%

VSAT (DAMA/TDMA): e.g. 1.2m Ku Band antenna, 1.8m C Band antenna, other bands supported

GSM Coverage: 2-3km, omni-directional antenna mounted on 12-15m guyed pole

GSM Capacity: 1-2 TRX per BTS, 100 TRX per BSC

microBTS: IP-67 environmental rating, fully sealed outdoor unit, no air-conditioning required

RF Output Power: 2.5W (+34dBm) per carrier

Receive Sensitivity: -108dBm

Frequency Bands: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

User Services: GSM FR, AMR HR (upcoming release), SMS, GPRS CS 1-4, EDGE MCS 1-9

Low Power Consumption: 100W (1-TRX), 125W

(2-TRX)

A-Interface to MSC, Gb Interface to SGSN/GGSN