O3B Networks to deliver Satellite Internet in Madagascar

 

Kuwait-based satellite communications company Gulfsat have chosen O3B Networks to deliver internet from satellite services in the African island nation of Madagascar. O3B Networks, which built the first medium Earth orbit satellite constellation, will deliver the satellite solutions aimed at improving infrastructure in the country.

Madagascar’s telecommunications infrastructure has suffered in recent years due to natural calamities. Gulfsat aims to provide unhampered communications technology, and continuity in services, through the satellite broadband and telephone services from O3B. The Middle East company is also looking for improved performance using the satellite constellation, while telecom operators in the island nation are opening to satellite technology to upgrade networks and increase revenues.

Telesat and Panasonic sign new long-term contract

Panasonic Avionics Corporation has signed a long-term contract with Telesat for satellite capacity in the latter’s upcoming Anik G1 satellite. Just last June 2012, Panasonic also signed an agreement with Telesat for satellite capacity over the North Atlantic through the Telstar 11N satellite.

PAC is looking to expand its aeronautical broadband service across Latin America with the new agreements. The IFE supplier will combine capacity from Telstar 11N with that on the Anik G1 satellite which will replace the South American coverage provided by Telesat’s Anik F1.

 

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Inmarsat partnering with Cisco for satellite broadband network

 

One of the leading satellite communications specialist, Inmarsat, has recently announce a long-term business alliance with networking giant Cisco for the development of a more powerful satellite broadband network.

 

According to Inmarsat, the partnership will see Cisco developing cutting-edge satellite applications service delivery platforms for some of the company’s present solutions, in particular the Global Xpress programme which uses the ka band frequency for mobile connectivity. Cisco will also engineer new routers for end-users to utilize, and which can also be integrated with Inmarsat’s BGAN solutions.

 

The agreements has Cisco building and operating the network systems before transferring all control to Inmarsat. The project will make use of networking technologies like Prime to deliver cloud services and host of other communications applications.

 

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Faster broadband speeds for rural clients via HughesNet Gen 4

Hughes Network Systems, the leading provider of satellite systems and services in the US, announced its new high-capacity internet by satellite technology the HughesNet Gen 4 which is expected to deliver up to 15mbps alongside more upload capacity and storage allowance.

 

The upgrade comes as Dish Network starts its own satellite broadband services to meet demands for high-speed internet in rural communities in America. The Gen 4 comes at three price deals.

 

The lowest, at $50, gets the customer 10 mbps of download, and 20 Gb data cap, plus 1 mbps of upload. With the $100 package, the highest of the three, customers get to enjoy a 40 Gb storage allowance, 2 mbps of uploads and 15mbps of downloads.

 

Hughes’ Gen4 service will employ the EchoStar XVII, a ka band satellite equipped with JUPITER’s high-throughput technology. The new satellite with its enhanced version of the IPoS/DVB-S2 standard. has already provided 1000 Gbps of additional capacity since its launch last July.

 

Demand for satellite broadband has increased over the years. Recently, the FCC announced that nearly 20 million American in remote areas relied on DSL connection, or had no broadband access at all. Both Hughes and DISH are looking to tap into this market.

Broadband from satellite now an ideal solution for remote communications

Satellite broadband is now becoming an alternative solution to remote connectivity issues. In hard-to-reach locations, terrestrial networks and traditional telecommunications infrastructure are often impracticable. Desert areas, mountainous regions, dense tropical foliage, or earthquake prone provinces pose a challenge to those who would want to opt for fibre networks, or telephone poles.

 

In such instances when geography and climate prevent the use of terrestrial networks, broadband through satellite is becoming the prefered solution. The emergence of more affordable VSAT networks is making satellite technology even more practical too. The size of VSAT systems also make it possible to deploy them in far-flung regions. Installing them is convenient, and despite their size, they can connect to powerful geostationary satellites through various telecommunications port which uplink to the space vessel.

 

A VSAT broadband system install in a remote location

 

The only hurdle to the use of satellite broadband in providing Internet access, data transmission, and even video conferencing services in areas without such benefits, would be its cost. Satellite systems are expensive. Latency issues still continue to hound the technology. Since the satellites orbiting the earth are thousands of kilometers above the ground, delays in transmission of signals are expected. This can even be worsened by rain fade, and extreme weather systems which would create interferences.

 

However, more powerful satellites are being developed. New birds which will work in high-capacity Ka band spectrum are now in orbit, and many more such vessels are under construction, with launches slated in the coming years. With more powerful satellites, latency issues are minimized, but bandwidth capacity is increased, making broadband via satellite possible in even more remote regions across the globe. At this stage, the technology is still an alternative, but it has proven itself as a crucial solution to “last mile” problem which characterized traditional non-wireless communications network.

 

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