iDirect, Inc. has announced SpaceCom International has introduced a GSM cellular backhaul service based on iDirect’s satellite communications platform. SpaceCom has already deployed the service to rural sites in Afghanistan with immediate plans to expand throughout South and Central Asia.


iDirect Series 12200 Series Satellite Hub SpaceCom selected the iDirect platform to reduce satellite bandwidth and infrastructure costs and improve voice and data traffic quality — key challenges that limit mobile operators’ expansion into remote and rural areas. iDirect’s TDMA-based shared allocation model enables mobile operators to distribute satellite capacity across multiple remote and rural locations based on real-time local demand. SpaceCom tested the iDirect platform against a legacy serial GSM connection and realized bandwidth savings of more than 50 percent, while significantly improving network speed and voice quality.

SpaceCom is currently backhauling voice traffic from more than 30 sites in Afghanistan. In 2010, the company plans to expand its service to up to 200 sites and to mobile operators in emerging Asian markets and is also planning the roll-out of Ku-band GSM backhaul within the South Asia region in the first Quarter of 2010. The backhaulnetwork integrates iDirect’s Series 12000 Universal Satellite Hub and iNFINITI satellite routers with IP-based mobile infrastructure.