Considering satellite capacity as a means to provide mobile backhaul seems counter-intuitive. Satellite is known to be an expensive technology that requires costly equipment and is therefore too costly to be used in high volume to backhaul traffic from cell sites in markets where there is no fibre or alternative capacity. The concept of using satellite to support mobile backhaul for consumers seems doomed from a cost point of view and also because of the higher latency involved in traditional satellite communications which can deliver a disjointed communications experience. O3b, set to deploy a next generation network that enables superior connectivity to the emerging markets, plans to redefine attitudes to satellite communications with its network of medium orbit satellites.