[SatNews] Gilat Satellite Networks will be in Barcelona, Spain, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2015, from March 2-5 in Booth: #5F81 where they will be showing their flagship products for cellular connectivity, CellEdge and SkyEdge II-c Capricorn.

Gilat stresses that rural areas represent the final untapped broadband market, and as governments prioritize providing broadband as a national initiative, the race is on to provide coverage. CellEdge, an integrated small cell over satellite solution enables full turnkey deployment of 2G/3G networks in the most remote regions.

Capricorn provides cellular backhaul capabilities of up to 200 Mbps, maximizing handset performance on 3G/LTE networks. 

While multi-spot beam Ka-/Ku-band satellite networks mean increased throughput and affordability for end-users, they can also create more complexity for network operators when it comes to managing multiple services and multiple gateways.

Gilat Satellite Networks has drawn on their expertise of broadband satellite communications to introduce the SkyEdge II-c platform. This high-performance dynamo integrates in a compact chassis all network services, including Fair Use System, QoS, Web acceleration, Compression, Encryption and IP services, and uses a single Network Management System to control all hub elements at all gateways and all VSATs.

SkyEdge II-c system supports large-scale broadband services for both consumer and enterprise applications, including fast web browsing, high-speed trunking, video streaming, IPTV, VoIP and other bandwidth-intensive services.

Mobile operators are missing out on nearly 2 billion customers who remain unconnected in rural, suburban, and remote areas. Until recently, operators have not attempted to reach these potential users because they could not justify the time and expense of rolling out conventional infrastructure for areas with low ARPU. But as other markets reach saturation, and as governmental Universal Service Obligations increasingly require mobile operators to provide rural service, these remote users now represent the final frontier for market growth.

Gilat’s CellEdge solution for 2G/3G networks uses a SkyEdge II-c VSAT integrated with a fully outdoor small cell. Because the small cell is lightweight, it can be mounted on a low-cost pole or light-tower. Power transmission is high while power consumption is low. The lack of overhead associated with this solution makes it particularly attractive to network operators.