Terrestrial and Millimeter-Wave Mobile Backhaul: A Last Mile Solution

Terrestrial and millimetre-wave (mm-wave) mobile backhaul could be considered as a last mile solution when planning or expanding limited internet infrastructure in emerging markets. These last mile networks offer unprecedented mobile bandwidth capable of serving numerous users at once and are also the basis of future-generation 5G mobile networks. Understanding the principles of mm-wave communications and the benefits and challenges associated with it is important if considering the technology as a mobile backhaul. Its benefits, apart from the advantage of an abundance of unlicensed spectrum, becomes more evident when considering use cases in emerging markets, especially rural areas, where potentially large numbers of users typically group together to obtain internet access. In such a scenario, users are relying on high-capacity access points for a consistently high quality of service. To effectively implement such access areas, high-frequency propagation and attenuation should be reviewed. This chapter researches the theoretical background on mm-wave signal propagation and the difficulties of implementing such high-frequency technologies when compared to more traditional, lower frequency, communications. These principles can be incorporated as a methodological approach to achieve broadband mobile last mile connectivity.