MegaFon and Bureau 1440 tested hybrid communication, in which satellites replace the terrestrial data transmission channel. The technology was demonstrated using the example of a base station in the taiga.
MegaFon and Bureau 1440 tested hybrid communication, in which satellites replace the terrestrial data transmission channel. The technology was demonstrated using the example of a base station in the taiga.
Russian mobile operator MegaFon and aerospace company Bureau 1440 announced Russia’s first test of hybrid communications via low-orbit satellites. The demonstration was held at the Digital Solutions forum in Moscow: participants were shown a live video broadcast from the taiga.
During the test, the mobile base station was connected to the operator’s network via a satellite channel. For this, the Rassvet satellite constellation, developed by Bureau 1440, was used.
In a conventional mobile network, a base station receives signals from nearby phones and transmits the data to the operator’s network via terrestrial infrastructure, such as cable lines. In the taiga test, this channel was replaced by a satellite channel.
The scheme worked like this: smartphones were connected to the base station of the Russian company YADRO. From there, data was sent to the Bureau 1440 satellite terminal, and via low-orbit satellites to the MegaFon network.
Thus, the phones interacted with a conventional terrestrial base station, and the satellites provided communication between it and the operator’s network.
The companies did not disclose which satellite terminal was used in the demonstration, nor did they specify the data transfer speed. The statement only mentions a high connection speed.
According to the developers, the hybrid scheme should help expand mobile coverage in places where there is no terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure or it is difficult to deploy it.
The company says possible usage scenarios include remote industrial sites, expeditions, and emergency zones. The satellite channel in this model allows the base station to be connected to the network without laying a landline to it.
Bureau 1440 previously introduced a line of subscriber terminals for the Rassvet satellite constellation. However, the companies have not yet announced when they can start using hybrid communication outside of testing.
MegaFon CEO Khachatur Pombukhchan called hybrid communication a new technology for the Russian telecommunications market. According to him, in 2024 the operator signed a contract with Bureau 1440, and later developed its own satellite complex for the operational deployment of 4G and 5G networks.
The head of ICS Holding, which includes Bureau 1440, Alexey Shelobkov, stated that satellite infrastructure is of particular importance for a country with a large territory, where the construction of terrestrial networks in some areas is complicated.
At the same time, the published results relate to a demonstration test. The companies did not provide technical indicators of the connection or inform about the timing of the commercial launch of the technology.
