A mesh base transceiver station capable of being configured to provide an optimized backhaul network for a mesh data network deployment. For each mesh base transceiver station in the network, a primary backhaul data path is configured with a wired base transceiver station associated with the network, wherein the primary backhaul data path is a single-hop data path. Upon configuration, the mesh base transceiver station is communicatively coupled with the wired base transceiver station via the primary backhaul data path.