The Wireless Backhaul Network, traditionally based on Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) technology, is reaching a breaking point. Originally designed to handle narrowband voice traffic, the backhaul network simply does not have the capacity to handle today's mobile traffic, which includes both voice traffic and growing volumes of data and streaming audio/video broadband. Operator costs are rising, and new-service revenues are holding steady rather than increasing. In a recent report titled New Backhaul Networks for Mobile Broadband, the research publication Heavy Reading suggests that to deliver high-speed mobile services profitably, operators must increase backhaul network capacity or use existing capacity more efficiently. Any solution based solely on TDM technology will not work over the long term. However, Ciena offers a solution that integrates existing TDM technology with Ethernet to provide operators maximum benefits, while increasing bandwidth and reducing overall costs. Until recently, most network operators have been trying to add backhaul capacity, primarily by leasing additional TDM-based T1/E1 circuits, at a high cost. Worldwide, TDM backhaul accounts for 20 to 40 percent of mobile network Operating Expense (OPEX). Additionally, up to 70 percent of wireless network downtime is a result of the aging copper plant on which T1 backhaul circuits are based, especially in North America.