Hughes Network Systems has successfully tested 5G satellite backhaul with the company’s JUPITER System ground platform.
For the tests at its Germantown, Maryland, gateway, Hughes engineers connected 5G smartphones to the internet with JUPITER System infrastructure, including a very small aperture terminal (VSAT), gateway and high throughput satellite. According to the company, the tests validated the compatibility of the Hughes technology with a 5G open radio access network (O-RAN) system, representative of any third-generation partnership project (3GPP) standards-based, standalone 5G deployment.
Globally, JUPITER System equipment currently powers backhaul sites for 2G, 3G and LTE traffic, and will now also support 5G.
Commenting on the development, Bhanu Durvasula, vice president, International Division, Hughes, said, “These interoperability tests confirm the suitability and ease of employing the JUPITER System for 5G cellular backhaul. We have built our ground platform to be future-proof, so customers have a roadmap to transition from long-term evolution (LTE) traffic today to 5G tomorrow, with the ease of a software update.”
Durvasula further added, “Satellite provides resiliency for terrestrial networks during peak hours and emergencies and, as part of the 5G network of networks, will also fill the gaps in terrestrial systems.”
The tests were conducted across the deployable, standards-based 5G open RAN-compliant system from COMSovereign, a US-based developer of 4G LTE advanced and 5G communication systems and solutions.
