Flexible capacity and traffic management for hybrid satellite-terrestrial mobile backhauling networks

Abstract

The unique wide-scale geographical coverage offered by satellite networks, coupled with its inherent broadcast/multicast capabilities and highly reliable connectivity, anticipates new opportunities for the integration of the satellite component into the 5G ecosystem. One of the most compelling scenarios is mobile backhauling, where satellite capacity can be used to complement the terrestrial backhauling infrastructure, not only in hard to reach areas, but also for more efficient traffic delivery to radio access network (RAN) nodes, increased resiliency and better support for fast, temporary cell deployments and moving cells. In this context, this paper proposes a model for the analysis of capacity and traffic management strategies in hybrid satellite-terrestrial mobile backhauling networks that rely on Software Defined Networking (SDN) for fine-grained traffic steering. Numerical results are provided to assess the capacity gains that can be achieved when the satellite backhaul capacity is used for traffic overflow, taking into account the placement of the satellite capacity at different traffic aggregation levels and the spatial correlation of the traffic demand.