Techniques for configuring a network system including base stations that support wireless backhaul are discussed herein. To provide network coverage for a new rural area with low network capacity requirements, a service provider may initially deploy a limited network configured with wired base stations that uses fiber links as backhaul. The limited network may have large coverage gap due to the time and cost associated with deploying fiber cables. In such low traffic areas, the system may reserve a portion of available frequency bands to use as wireless backhaul and configure wireless nodes to use the backhaul provided by the reserved frequency bands. The system may configure the existing wired base stations to serve as donor nodes to provide network link for the wireless nodes. The system may deploy a network of these wireless nodes to rapidly fill in coverage gaps.