Satellite Broadband for Asia-Pacific: Case Studies

In late 2007, Intel in collaboration with IPSTAR embarked on a rural connectivity pilot project that combines Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) technologies with broadband satellite backhaul to provide a remote community in Vietnam with broadband Internet and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone services.

Located in the highland area of Ta Van village, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) via IPSTAR broadband satellite-enabled network has been deployed in cooperation and support with service provider Vietnam Data Communication Company (VDC), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the IPSTAR satellite backhaul solution.

The pilot project is part of Intel's "World Ahead-Connecting the Next One Billion" program. It is intended to replicate the wireless network and satellite backhaul project in other remote areas in Asia-Pacific.

The IPSTAR backhaul-enabled wireless broadband access proved to be a cost-effective solution for the Ta Van community, which is lacking access to terrestrial line infrastructure, thus providing instant coverage with flexible and rapid infrastructure rollout.

Ta Van village, near the town of Sapa, is situated in the highlands some 300 km north-west of Hanoi, bordering China's Yunnan province. Its main business is farming and tourism, and the monthly per capita income from farming is USD 13. Ta Van's
mountainous terrain area means it is cut-off from most communications access.

Favorably, it is nearby Lao Cai city where Intel, USAID and VDC had earlier established their first WiMAX trial project in Vietnam. Ta Van is the second phase of the project and the IPSTAR broadband satellite platform serves as a wireless network backhaul solution.

The Ta Van community broadband solution works by way of distributing one satellite connection to multiple end users via a WiMAX network. IPSTAR is the satellite platform of choice because of its cost advantage and QoS.

The satellite signal is distributed throughout the community via a WiMAX micro base station. Then, WiMAX subscriber stations located around the village route Internet connectivity to PCs and VoIP phones in numerous locations, including the Ta Van medical clinic, school, and guesthouses.

The project addresses one of the main challenges in many Asian markets, namely the lack of backhaul. In addition, it marks a satellite industry milestone, as it is the first time in Asia that a satellite provides a link up service in combination with a WiMAX network for both voice and data.

In the case of Ta Van, the Intel/IPSTAR WiMAX satellite backhaul solution proved to be economically viable and more cost efficient compared to a satellite-only solution.

The Ta Van project is a major milestone in the development of WiMAX via satellite backhaul to remote areas. In addition, Ta Van provided a rich opportunity for a visible demonstration that not only it can be used across Vietnam, but also in other countries facing similar challenges.

According to Intel, for remote communities around the world, the combination of broadband satellite Internet access and WiMAX technology helps roll out a sustainable business model that uses a shared access community model and IP technology without the need for wired infrastructure – leapfrogging wired technologies – so that a large number of users can be connected quickly and affordably.

The focus in Ta Van was to pursue wireless broadband solutions that would have direct value for those communities eligible to receive universal access funding, by delivering broadband Internet and voice services over a single wireless network to remote locations.