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Mast backhaul bandwith

tommyk

Casual Member
Hi, how much backhaul bandwith do 4g masts typically have. I know there is a big range in mast loads as some sites use microwave links.

Do they use 1gb links or is it much less and that is normally the congestion bottleneck?

I've noticed several masts nearby have had open reach works recently
 
Just because a site has microwave don't assume that it's backhaul is slow - afaik those links could be up to 60Gbps, though most won't be (I believe my sites' Three share of the MW link is ~300Mbps)

As for wired backhaul, some sites may be running over vDSL, but again most won't be, you'd assume 1Gbps fibre. I'd think 10Gbps would be the aim for 5G sites
 
Just because a site has microwave don't assume that it's backhaul is slow - afaik those links could be up to 60Gbps, though most won't be (I believe my sites' Three share of the MW link is ~300Mbps)

As for wired backhaul, some sites may be running over vDSL, but again most won't be, you'd assume 1Gbps fibre. I'd think 10Gbps would be the aim for 5G sites
Is there much difference on ping time between microwave vs fibre backhaul?
 
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Is there much difference on ping time between microwave vs fibre backhaul?
You'd expect so, especially if there are multiple MW hops involved, but it might depend on multiple factors

From experience, my one-hop Three MW site averages at ~36ms, but when it was down for a day last week for maintenance and I was connected to a more distant 5G site (so assumed direct fibre backhaul) pings were averaging at ~20ms
 
Watching this thread with interest. I've always wondered what kind of bandwidth/bearer these masts have.
 
From my experience with Three, in my location there is simply no where enough backhaul, especially from 3pm most days. (my mast had a microwave dish on it too.)

On a brighter note I've just left three on my mobile too! My sim only contract had expired and they decided to double the monthly fee!, Went on chat and spoke to a bot trying to upsell me though. End result, they refused to keep it the same. so I'm now totally threeless!

(For those interested I picked up 12 month sim only contract for £6 a month deal on moneysavingexpert 5gb data, unlimited texts and calls on plusnet mobiles EE MVNO )
 
Last edited:
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Watching this thread with interest. I've always wondered what kind of bandwidth/bearer these masts have.
I reckon most new masts in urban areas would be connected at 10 Gbps, though I expect there are also quite a few that are connected at 1 Gbps, depending on projected load and so on.
 
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