Volume V, No. III March 2020
Table of Contents Industry Trends and Analysis: (pg. 3) Patee Sarasin, former CEO of Nok Air: "Unlocking the Riches of In-flight Wi-Fi" (pg. 4) David Bruner, former V.P. Panasonic Avionics: "Buckle Up! :Turbulence Ahead in Airline Connectiviy Markets" (pg. 15) "The Promise of the New Iridium and Aireon Services: Big Advancements in Air Traffic Management on the Horizon" (pg. 26) Ernst Peter Hovinga, CEO Hiber: "Disrupting the Satellite IoT Connectivity Market: The Promise of Hiber" (p.31) "Upcoming and Recommended Satellite Mobility Events" Pg. 38)
Gottlieb's
Highlighting Disruptive, New, Mobility-Focused Satellite Ventures and Technologies
SM
"Let's Bailout Intelsat and Save 5G!" "The LEO - MEO Market is Enterprise - Not the Unserved Masses" "Telesat's LEO: Enterprise Grade and Uniquely Competitive" with Erwin Hudson, VP Telesat LEO Special Feature: "Speedcast: Crisis and Opportunity - Plotting the Way Foreward" with co-CEO Joe Spytek "Gilat's New ESA: Flying High and Connected" with Roni Stoleru, VP Antenna and Product Development "IDirect & Newtec: The Merger and its Impact on Mobility Markets" with Thomas Van den Dreissche, COO iDirect "Isotropic Systems: An ESA that's Different and Uniquely Promising " with John Finney, CEO "The Vende Globe: Thales and Iridium Serve the Epic Ocean Race" with Brian Aziz, Director of Satcom Solutions
Now With SmallSat News!!
Satellite mobility World
In This Issue...
Welcome to the March 2020 issue of "Satellite Mobility World." It's pre-Sat 2020, and this issue is spectacular. In exclusive interviews of Telesat's VP of LEO, Erwin Hudson, Joe Spytek, the new co-CEO of Speedcast, Thomas Van den Dressche, CMO of ST Engineering's iDirect and John Finney, CEO, of Isotropic Systems, we're covering some of the "hottest" developments of the day. You'll hear from Erwin about their LEO and how its robust enterprise-focused design sets it apart from OneWeb, Starlink's retail-focused architecture. Next, we focus on Speedcast. Following the collapse of its stock price and the resignation of long-term CEO, P.J. Beylier, we traveled to Middleburg, VA for an exclusive interview with Speedcast Board member and co-CEO Joe Spytek. Find out what's next for Speedcast as Joe and co-CEO, Peter Shaper, plot the company's future. Next, we interviewed Newtec former CEO and now, CMO of ST Engineering iDirect, Thomas Van Den Dressche. If you're wondering how the integration of the two companies is progressing, don't miss this interview. Another hot topic these days is flat-panel ESAs. In this issue, you'll hear about two major developments. Gilat is in focus as they demo their new aero antenna. In an exclusive video, watch them switch their antenna from GEO to MEO in mid-flight, and in an accompanying interview, hear from Roni Stoleru, Gilat's VP of Antenna Products. In antenna feature, you'll hear from Isotropic Systems CEO, John Finney, about the progress Isotropic is making toward completion of their remarkable optical beamforming antenna. Lastly, we have a great article from Thales' Brian Aziis on the Vende Globe Ocean race and how Thales new, VesseLink is making the race safer. Satellite Mobility World Published by Gottlieb International Group Arlington, Virginia, USA www.gottliebinternationalgroup.com Satellite Mobility World is published by Gottlieb International Group, Inc. 1209 South Frederick Street, Arlington, VA 22204 USA 703-622-8520 www.gottliebInternationalgroup.com © Copyright 2020 . 1209 South Frederick Street, Arlington VA USA 22204 www.gottliebinternationalgroup.com +1-703-622-8520 Published by Gottlieb International Group, Inc. Arlington, VA USA Tel: 703-622-8520 Gottlieb's Satellite and Mobility World is published monthly (except August) by Gottlieb International Group., Inc. Suite 100, 1209 South Frederick Street, Arlington, VA USA 22204 © Copyright 2019 (Tel +1-703-622-8520)
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Table of Contents... "Hot News and Commentary" (pg.3) "SmallSat News and Ventures" (pg. 4) Editorially Speaking:"Let's Bailout Intelsat and Save 5G!" (pg. 5) "The LEO - MEO Market is Enterprise: Not the Unserved masses" (pg. 7) "Telesat's LEO: Enterprise Grade and Uniquely Competitive" with Telesat VP LEO, Erwin Hudson (pg. 10) Special Feature: "Speedcast: Crisis and Opportunity - Plotting the Way Forward" with co-CEO, Joe Spytek (pg. 22) "Gilat's New ESA: Flying Hight and Connected" with Roni Stoleru, VP of Antenna Products (pg. 32) "iDirect & Newtec: The Merger and Its Impact on Mobility Markets" (pg. 40) "Isotropic Systems: An ESA That's Different and Uniquely Promising" with CEO John Finney (pg. 48) "The Vende Globe: Thales and Iridium Serve the Epic Ocean Race" with Brian Aziz, Director of Satcom Solutions (pg. 55) Recommended Upcoming Industry Events (Pg. 60)
SATELLITE MOBILITY WORLD
Post Satellite 2020 News Updates.. SES and Isotropic Systems Enter New Phase of Customer Edge Terminal Antenna Development to Unleash O3b mPOWER Isotropic’s high-throughput multi-beam terminals and SES’s multi-orbit domain open up new world of powerful, resilient connectivity and capabilities for broad range of commercial and government markets Luxembourg/Reading, UK, 5 March 2020 – Isotropic Systems, an innovator and provider of transformational broadband terminal technologies, and SES today announced a new developmental phase of their collaborative partnership to produce scalable, cost-effective multi-beam customer edge terminal antennas capable of unlocking access to the groundbreaking O3b mPOWER system across government and defence, telco and cellular backhaul, aero, maritime, and offshore markets. Together with SES, Isotropic Systems will review, refine, and test key components of its full line of customised digital software-defined terminals throughout 2020, optimising the tiered platform to meet specific performance, cost, power, and connectivity requirements of user cases around the world. The development roadmap will culminate in a series of comprehensive engineering evaluations of Isotropic Systems’ multi-beam antenna components, prior to the commercial launch of the customer edge terminals and the O3b mPOWER Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) system in 2021. Many of the upcoming trials, the first underway this month, will focus on maximising the effectiveness of the circuits behind the optical beam-forming lens modules at the core of the Isotropic Systems adaptable multi-beam antenna. The patented lens module technology is a major differentiator, enabling seamless switching between SES’s multi-orbit fleets, and opening the door to a new age of widely accessible and tailored high-performance Ku- and Ka-band connectivity. “The SES-Isotropic Systems partnership is driving the development of innovative multi-beam customer edge terminal antennas using digital beamforming that will light up new market opportunities for the tailored scalability and flexibility of our O3b mPOWER network and our unique multi-orbit MEO-GEO constellations,” said Stewart Sanders, SES’s Executive Vice President and O3b mPOWER Programme Lead. “Our shared vision is keenly focused on bringing game-changing, high-performance broadband to both highly sophisticated and mass markets across the globe, on land, at sea, and in the air.” “The Isotropic Systems multi-beam antennas, featuring our patented optical digital beam-forming lens technologies, provide the high-throughput ground infrastructure required to unlock a new wave of HTS constellations, including SES’s high-performance multi-constellation satellite networks across a wide range of markets,” explained John Finney, founder and CEO of Isotropic Systems. “Our terminals are customisable to meet the performance, cost, and power requirements of countless applications – from the most complex government defence systems and mobile backhaul solutions capable of extending 5G, to next-gen connected experiences aboard commercial airliners, cruise ships, offshore rigs, and even small fishing boats at sea.” SES and Isotropic Systems first announced their partnership in 2018 when SES contracted Isotropic Systems to develop smart, high-throughput customer edge terminal solutions for the O3b mPOWER system. The fully funded, next-gen and highly flexible MEO satellite-based data communications system is a scalable terabit-level constellation supporting thousands of dynamic beams, and exponentially expands SES’s first-generation O3b MEO system capabilities to deliver a whole new level of customisation. Isotropic Systems will showcase a mockup of the customer edge terminal antenna at the Satellite 2020 Conference and Exhibition at the Washington Convention Center on March 9-12 in Washington, DC. ST Engineering iDirect Unveils Next Generation Mx-DMA Technology at SATELLITE 2020 Herndon, Va., March 9, 2020 – ST Engineering iDirect, a company of ST Engineering North America, introduces its Mx-DMA MRC (multi-resolution coding) technology at SATELLITE 2020, which unites SCPC (single carrier per channel) efficiency and TDMA (time-division multiple access) scalability in an innovative way, adding ground-breaking new dimensions of adaptivity. Building on the well-established, award-winning Mx-DMA technology, Mx-DMA MRC will answer the market’s call for unprecedented service agility, extending the availability of Mx-DMA to very large networks and expanding the applicability and use of the technology to cover a full spectrum of use cases. The introduction of Mx-DMA MRC brings forth the full scalability of TDMA return link technologies to the original Mx-DMA HRC (high resolution coding) return at the same efficiency levels. Service providers can now cover a myriad of use cases in a single return link, from cruise ships and large enterprise customers to SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) and broadband access, sharing satellite capacity more efficiently over a group of satellite terminals and applications, achieving the lowest total cost of ownership. “With the added dimensions and scalability of MRC, we are unlocking tremendous flexibility and scale so our customers can deliver a broader range of service levels at a lower cost structure without compromise,” said Thomas Van den Driessche, President of the Executive Board and Chief Commercial Officer, ST Engineering iDirect. “This will open up many doors for them, enabling them to serve a greater number of markets more efficiently and effectively. As we move towards a converged offering, it is technology like this that will be integral for the future success of our customers, and we remain dedicated to protecting their investment with us, today and tomorrow.” Mx-DMA MRC is a return link technology that combines the benefits of MF-TDMA - ideal for bursty traffic and higher contention services with the spectrum efficiency of SCPC that is more applicable to dedicated higher data and video rate return links, into a single return technology suited to a greatly expanded set of applications. Mx-DMA scales in MHz independent of the number of terminals so customers may be served with a single return link for the majority of their use cases, minimizing operational complexity and maximizing statistic multiplexing. Mx-DMA MRC delivers these benefits by maintaining the industry-leading spectral efficiency of Mx-DMA HRC while drastically improving the agility, scalability and fill efficiency. Designing an Mx-DMA MRC link does not require precise knowledge of the traffic and terminal mix as the link self-optimizes in real-time. Moreover, the high efficiency enables bandwidth savings, higher throughput, better network availability and substantial terminal cost savings. The first release of Mx-DMA MRC will be available to early adopters of the Newtec Dialog platform from Q3 2020. Cubic & Kymeta Team Up On Hybrid Satellite and LTE Network Platform The ground-breaking network platform enables blended LTE and satellite-based connectivity services Seattle, WA March 10, 2020 - Military, first responders and commercial customers across numerous land-based mobile verticals can now operate with a vital ‘always-on’ communications connectivity solution, switching from satellite to cellular connectivity seamlessly. Cubic Telecom, the global connectivity technology provider, has partnered with Kymeta, the communications company making mobile global. Cubic and Kymeta’s technology collaboration brings secure, hyper-efficient, and highly-optimized connectivity to industries such as the military, emergency response, transportation, recreational and overland adventure vehicles. This radical satellite-cellular hybrid package combines LTE and satellite connectivity using Kymeta’s flat panel electronically steered antenna technology. Buses, vehicle fleets, maritime vessels, ferries, trucks, and trains can leverage the optimal aspects of both satellite and cellular network technologies to provide highly reliable connections. The network connectivity occurs seamlessly to ensure that users remain connected anywhere in the world, even at sea, in the midst of a mountain rescue, or in the middle of a desert. “Cubic’s LTE and 5G networks, partnered with Kymeta’s satellite connectivity solution, allows true mobility with complete coverage of the Earth. By combining these communication networks, we can provide enhanced products and services at a sustainable economy of scale, while supporting essential communications,” said Barry Napier, CEO and Executive Chairman at Cubic Telecom. The Kymeta network software leverages the best of satellite and cellular networks to deliver cost savings and increased reliability to the user. These technologies make cellular and satellite more accessible and more commercially viable than ever with an easy to deploy and affordable solution. “By integrating Kymeta’s industry-defining services platform with Cubic’s global managed cellular network, we have established a partnership that will continue to offer advanced services to established and emerging markets”, said Walter Berger, President and Chief Operating Officer of Kymeta. “With this partnership, we now offer a single integrated solution providing the hardware to connect to satellite and cellular from any moving platform, the satellite and cellular services to connect the user, and an entire platform of services and tools to manage a user’s network so that each experience can be optimized for each user.” Kymeta will launch the connectivity platform in the US and Europe first, then will expand to other countries around the world. XipLink Extends Backhaul Optimization for Mission Critical and CBRS Networks Provides complete optimization solutions for LTE/5G backhaul links March 5, 2020 – Montréal, QC: XipLink, the technology leader in Wireless Link Optimization, today announced expanded support of mobile backhaul optimization for Mission Critical and CBRS networks. Utilizing optimization and TCP Acceleration, XipLink´s solution will boost LTE and 5G performance by reducing mobile backhaul costs while simultaneously increasing download speeds at the mobile base station. This technology enables transport of increased customer traffic over satellite or wireless links, while simultaneously improving the Quality of Experience (QoE) for downstream subscribers. With proven user-friendly solutions that are utilized by over 50 Mobile Network Operators (MNO's), XipLink is extending backhaul optimization to the following markets: Mission Critical and Public Safety With human lives on the line, Mission Critical and Public Safety Networks demand new levels of capacity and reliability to support the growing needs of paramedics, emergency medical technicians, police, firefighters, and military personnel. Effective communications that remain clear and consistent during catastrophic events, such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks, is vital for first responders. Emergency and public safety networks benefit from XipLink's optimized LTE/5G mobile backhaul technology by improving download times and rapid access to essential resources. The recent addition of Traffic Steering automated policies, leveraging XipLink's existing link balancing and bonding capability, effectively broadens first responder path selection to reduce risk and increase connection quality. Thus far, XipLink has successfully empowered several public safety networks in North America, including the largest purpose built first responder cellular network of its kind. This optimized solution provides first responders with enhanced levels of backhaul efficiency and quality of service. Aside from providing necessary and lifesaving communications, XipLink has also reduced operating expenditures due to its optimization capabilities that were purposely designed for the mobile environment. “First responders require reliable communications during critical times,” said Jack Waters, CEO at XipLink. “We are committed to offering innovative optimized backhaul that facilitates efficient network traffic movement while also improving the quality of experience required for the public safety community during emergencies and various other crises.” Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) and Private LTE With the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) approval of full-scale commercial shared spectrum now available in the CBRS band, service providers and enterprises can take advantage to extend coverage and capacity. By doing so, companies can create their own public or private LTE and 5G networks with a low barrier-to-entry. CBRS offers 150 MHz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band that is dynamically shared between incumbent and commercial users. This allows major cable operators, WISPs, MNOs, and other diverse enterprises to now deploy LTE and eventually 5G. XipLink is paving the way for the delivery of CBRS backhaul at a lower OPEX while providing higher throughput and improved availability. “XipLink is excited that CBRS is ready for commercial deployment. This shared spectrum offers new opportunities for operators and enterprises,” said Tim Peyla, Senior Director, Business Development at XipLink. “Network operators using XipLink in underserved or rural communities can now increase the quality of experience for subscribers while reducing backhaul capacity cost.” Iridium Certus® 700 Upgrade Brings the Fastest L-band Speeds to the Industry Existing Iridium CertusTM terminals are being upgraded to industry-leading speeds through a simple firmware update MCLEAN, VA., February 27, 2020 – Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) announced today that the Iridium Certus 700 service is commercially available and is providing the fastest L-band speeds in the industry. When first launched in early 2019, Iridium Certus provided L-band upload and download speeds of up to 352 kbps. With the upgrade to Iridium Certus 700, provided at no additional cost to Iridium Certus 350 subscribers, top download speeds have now doubled to up to 704 kbps. That is more than 270 kbps faster than the top download speed of the closest competitive L-band solution, for the same price per kilobit as Iridium Certus 350. Unique in the satellite industry, Iridium Certus is the only broadband service that provides truly global, weather-resilient coverage for on-the-move internet and high-quality voice access. Delivered through small form factor, cost-effective antennas and terminals currently available from Cobham and Thales, Iridium Certus has seen growing adoption by the maritime and land-mobile/connected vehicle markets. Truly global maritime communications have never been faster, thanks to the Iridium Certus 700 service. Delivered through the Cobham SAILOR 4300 and VesseLINK by Thales satellite terminals, Iridium Certus serves as either a primary ship communications solutions or as a VSAT companion service. Regardless of a vessel’s location at sea, Iridium Certus 700 delivers high-speed L-band connectivity, enhancing ship business applications, IoT services and connected ship communications. Crew members on board vessels equipped with Iridium Certus terminals can also enjoy faster web surfing and reliable use of smartphone applications such as WhatsApp or WeChat, even in poor weather. Gilat’s First-to-Flight ESA Terminal Achieves Another Industry-First with In-Flight Connectivity over NGSO, Well-Positioning Gilat to Win the Vast Opportunities in the ESA Market High performance and instantaneous multi-orbit LEO-GEO switchover between Telesat’s satellites over Ka-band capacity was achieved onboard Honeywell’s commercial test aircraft Petah Tikva, Israel, February 18, 2020 — Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ, TASE: GILT), a worldwide leader in satellite networking technology, solutions and services, announced today that Gilat’s first-to-flight Electronically Steered Antenna (ESA) terminal achieved yet another industry-first with in-flight connectivity over NGSO, that well-positions Gilat to win the vast opportunities in the ESA market. The demonstration showed high performance and instantaneous Ka-band switchovers between and operating on Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite and its Anik-F3 GEO satellite, onboard Honeywell’s Boeing 757 commercial test aircraft, across several flight tests. Gilat’s high throughput and small form factor ESA operated continuously over GEO then instantaneously switched connectivity to operate on LEO when it came into view, and back to GEO after operating on LEO. The ESA terminal demonstrated high performance, with broadband throughput of up to 58 Mbit/sec on both FWD and RTN, round trip delay as low as 18msec and robust operation at low elevation angles of down to 20 degrees. Gilat’s ESA is a no moving parts, full electronic beam steering flat panel antenna with an extremely low profile. Gilat’s innovative design combines the benefits of ESA with the advantages of Ka-band, as highlighted by the performance achieved in this testing. The ESA terminal serves both GEO and NGSO constellations and as such opens the market to low latency real-time applications. Gilat’s multi-orbit ESA switchover capabilities will enable airlines to future-proof their connectivity decisions,” said Michel Forest, Director of Systems Engineering for the LEO Program at Telesat. “Airlines will be able to access high-performing Ka-band connectivity today, and easily incorporate LEO low-latency connectivity without replacing terminals. Our ongoing development efforts with our valued partner Gilat will ensure airlines have flexibility and ability to meet their inflight data requirements of the future.” “Gilat’s innovative ESA terminal opens up great opportunities in the commercial and business aviation markets with a winning proposition that addresses the two major ESA industry growth dynamics: mobility, with emphasis on in-flight connectivity, and the upcoming NGSO constellations,” said Roni Stoleru, Vice President Antenna Products & Strategy at Gilat. “We are appreciative of the collaboration with our long-standing partners, Honeywell and Telesat and look forward to continued cooperation.” Gilat’s ESA terminal will be displayed at Satellite 2020 in Washington DC, booth XipLink Wins Three Key Awards For 2019 March 3, 2020 – Montréal, QC: XipLink, the technology leader in Wireless Link Optimization is proud to announce three major awards from several different organizations for the calendar year 2019. Branham Publications identified XipLink as one of the top 250 Information Communications Technology companies in Canada (196th), McLean's Magazine "Canadian Business" also recognized XipLink as one of the top 500 growth companies based on revenue obtainment for 2019 (258th) and, significantly, CIO Review magazine chose XipLink as one of the 20 most promising SDN companies to follow into the future. Jack Waters, CEO at XipLink notes, "We are extremely proud of our employees for achieving recognition from multiple sources for our technology accomplishments and customer focused culture. The growth rates, doubling revenue over the last two years, is validation that XipLink's quality level is extremely high with re-order rates from existing customers at record levels. Additionally, these awards are only possible with sound advice from our business partners and customers, giving us focused confidence and execution capability in the marketplace. With WAN Optimization transitioning to SD-WAN delivery, XipLink is well positioned in the satellite and wireless business to provide solutions to forward-thinking businesses around the globe." Intellian Sets New Standards for Satellite Terminals with v240MT Gen-II launch 28 February 2020 – Intellian, the global leader of mobile satellite communication antenna systems, has announced the launch of its next generation tri-band product, the v240MT Gen-II antenna. Developed from the award-winning tri-band v240MT – the first multi-orbit, multi-frequency and auto-switching antenna in the market, with over 150 systems [u1] already deployed – the new product adds a host of additional features and value, including the ability to operate multiple antennas seamlessly via its dual datacenter capability and enhanced Ku-band performance. The ability to automatically switch between C-, Ku-, and Ka-bands, and between GEO, MEO and LEO orbits, makes the v240MT Gen-II truly vendor agnostic and allows customers to select the best and most economical provider at any time, without hardware modifications. The device is also modem agnostic, effectively allowing users to connect to any network, anywhere, delivering on Intellian’s stated aim to make maritime communications as simple, intuitive and seamless as possible. This flexibility is reinforced by the option to choose BUCs from 40W up to 400W, enabling unprecedented high throughput out of the box. Installation and setup have been further simplified, bringing costs down, while the optional intelligent mediator enables operation across different frequency bands by providing an interface between multiple modems and/or multiple antennas. With a single antenna this allows best use of the diversity of a tri-band antenna by managing modems for all three bands, while in a dual antenna setup this functionality is extended to ensure seamless connection, as the mediator will switch automatically between antennas if one becomes blocked. Eric Sung, CEO of Intellian, said: “The v240MT Gen-II sets a new standard for maritime communications, providing customers with enhanced features and a higher performance than ever seen before. As our network partners continue to introduce more powerful satellite services to help support customers increased data demands, the v240MT Gen-II is the best solution to maximize the user experience and network efficiency across these services. The future-proof design and system capabilities ensure customers have access to the most advanced technology today, as well as a seamless and cost-effective pathway to new services as they become operational. The v240MT Gen-II is now available from Intellian’s global logistics centers. Tom Choi’s Curvalux: Major Trials Underway with Promising Early Results Hong Kong March 1, 2020: In Asia, major trials of Curvalux are underway. One of Asia’s largest mobile operators has just been completed one, and the results are exciting. Other trials are underway in Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, and even in the U.S. in Las Vegas. In the recently completed trial, users experienced upload and download speeds in above 200Mbps to 10 km and 20 Mbps as far away as 20 km. With economics far superior to 5G in a fixed wireless environment, it’s becoming clear that the Curvalux solution is a remarkably efficient and cost-effective Internet delivery solution for the world’s unserved population. Based on a unique, beamforming phased array antenna, the solution is technologically innovative. Each antenna is capable of forming 16 highly concentrated beams at WiFi frequencies. Mounted on a small number of towers and deployed in a “mesh” configuration, the architecture is optimized to serve as few as 250 people in a 100 Square kilometer area. The system has demonstrated to carry aggregate traffic of 2Gbps with all beams operating simultaneously. Best of all the extremely low powered system can be completely solar powered. Each Curvalux network can be “fed” by fiber, microwave, or satellite. A special millimeter wave version of the antenna is being developed that will be capable of carrying a 3 Gbps link up to 10 km. With it, fiber capacity can be extended to Curvalux installations operating at considerable distances. However, the product is evolutionary, and upgraded versions supporting a greater number of beams and wider frequencies with higher capacities are under development. In addition to rural user applications, urban deployments and enterprise is also a promising market. For example, beams could target individual floors in office buildings or serve cruise ships docked in harbors. Currently, the hardware enterprise-grade hardware is available to selected partners, and Choi has aggressive plans for worldwide deployment of the Curvalux solution. Ultimately, due to the unique economics of the solution, Curvalux could be a far more attractive solution to serve the unserved than mega LEO constellations for most of the unserved population. Rignet Announced Amedment and Extension of Credit Facility HOUSTON, Feb. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RigNet (NASDAQ: RNET, the "Company"), the leading provider of ultra-secure, intelligent networking solutions, announced today that it has successfully amended its senior secured Credit Facility (the “Amendment”) with its existing bank group led by Bank of America, N.A. as administrative agent. Among other things, the Amendment: Increases the Revolving Facility $15 million to $100 million and extends maturity to August 31, 2022; Replaces outstanding Term Notes by transferring $14.5 million to the Revolving Facility and establishing a new $16 million Term Facility with maturity of March 31, 2022; Sets the allowable Consolidated Leverage Ratio at 3.25 times Consolidated EBITDA (both terms as defined in the Credit Facility) through third quarter 2020, thereafter stepping down to 3.00 times through second quarter 2021, thereafter stepping down to 2.75 times through the maturity date of the Revolving Facility; Maintains the attractive pricing grid currently enjoyed by the Company; and Establishes a $30 million accordion. “We are very pleased by and appreciative of the unanimous support we received from our bank group in amending our Credit Facility to not only extend the term, but improve cash flow by reducing amortization and providing a payment holiday in this first quarter,” said Lee M. Ahlstrom, RigNet’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “In this challenging economic environment, made more uncertain by the recent impact of coronavirus on potential global energy demand, the Amendment facilitates RigNet’s ongoing mission to help our customers digitally transform their businesses. Despite industry headwinds, demand for our services in all three of our segments, Managed Communications, Apps & IoT, and Systems Integration, remains strong and we are focused on delivering against our 2020 operating plan.” Telecom, Technology, and Aviation Industry Leaders Join Forces to Create the HAPS Alliance FEBRUARY 21, 2020 – A group of global industry leaders today announced that they are forming the HAPS Alliance, an association of world-leading telecommunications, technology, aviation, and aerospace companies that are united in promoting the use of high altitude vehicles in the Earth’s stratosphere to eliminate the digital divide and bring connectivity to more people, places, and things worldwide. Members who have committed to join the HAPS Alliance include SoftBank Corp.’s HAPSMobile Inc. (“HAPSMobile”), Alphabet’s Loon LLC (“Loon”), AeroVironment, Inc. (“AeroVironment”), Airbus Defence and Space, Bharti Airtel Limited (“Bharti Airtel”), China Telecom Corporation Limited (“China Telecom”), Deutsche Telekom AG (“Deutsche Telekom”), Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (“Ericsson”), Intelsat US LLC (“Intelsat”), Nokia Corporation, SoftBank Corp., and Telefónica S.A. (“Telefónica”). The HAPS Alliance is being created so member companies can collectively advocate for High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business development with the relevant authorities in various countries, build a cooperative HAPS ecosystem, develop common product specifications and promote the standardization of HAPS network interoperability. All of these activities will be key to the Alliance’s aim of addressing diverse social issues and creating new value by providing telecommunications network connectivity worldwide through the utilization of high altitude vehicles. The Alliance, originally an initiative from HAPSMobile and Loon, will have members from participating leading companies across the aerospace, technology and telecom industries to carry out the Alliance’s activities. The launch of the HAPS Alliance follows a previous April 2019 announcement between HAPSMobile and Loon where the companies formed a strategic alliance to advance the use of high altitude vehicles. High altitude network connectivity platforms operate in the stratosphere, which is above ground infrastructure, but below satellites, allowing for near ubiquitous coverage that avoids ground clutter and significant latency issues. These advantages make such vehicles a promising solution for expanding mobile coverage to areas where connectivity is lacking—such as mountainous terrain, remote islands, marine regions and developing countries—as well as for IoT and 5G use-cases. The HAPS Alliance seeks to create an ecosystem to support next-generation global connectivity needed to revolutionize the world’s mobile networks. Isotropic Networks Demonstrates Remarkable Performance of Intellian’s NX-Series Antennas Future-proof, next-generation terminals will offer game-changing flexibility and performance for the maritime industry over multiple satellite networks and frequency bands IRVINE, CA. and LAKE GENEVA, WI, February 18, 2020 – Isotropic, the trusted provider of global Internet services offering unrivaled connectivity; and Intellian, the global leader in mobile satellite communication antenna systems, have announced the completion of network acceptance testing on Intellian’s new NX-Series of antennas. Testing was conducted at Isotropic’s Lake Geneva facility over its Amazonas-2 and Galaxy-28 networks and utilized ST Engineering iDirect’s X7 modem. The new series of antennas are also compatible with the iQ LTE modem, which is uniquely suited for a range of enterprise voice and data services. The NX Series offers high-speed data and industry-leading performance, further strengthened by exceptionally efficient RF design for use on every vessel type. The antennas feature an optimized reflector and radome, frequency tuned for both Ku- and Ka-bands, and a single coaxial cable which combines Tx, Rx, and DC power, to simplify installation. The system also features data and reference signals between the antenna and the antenna control unit (ACU). Intellian’s innovation means that dual antenna operation is achieved without the use of a mediator and enhanced remote management and trouble-shooting capabilities are available via the AptusNX intelligence management platform. Higher bandwidth packages may also be accessed through high power BUC options. “The NX Series truly embodies the future-proof capabilities that are going to be so important as we move into a new era of satellite connectivity,” said Hank Zbierski, Chief Catalyst and Co-Founder, Isotropic Networks. “Satellite technology is an essential part of connectivity at sea and these successful tests have validated the inherent flexibility and smart design of the NX Series and its capability to move easily between frequency bands and satellites for seamless maritime communications.” The antennas are simply converted from Ku- to Ka-band by changing the center-mounted RF assembly and feed using a conversion kit and are all NGSO (non-geostationary satellite orbit) -ready for use when the time is right for the customer. “Our collaboration with Isotropic confirms that the NX-Series is ready to begin delivery of services to users in the maritime sector over the extensive and highly reliable Isotropic network,” explained Sam McKee, VP Americas Sales, Intellian. “Passengers and cruise ships, commercial shipping and the oil and gas industry will benefit from the exceptional performance that these next-generation antenna systems bring, with an emphasis on the future and the ability to work with both GEO and NGSO constellations. This is truly in-line with Intellian’s future-proof ethos. We look forward to the delivery of these services over Isotropic’s network.” A full range of NX antennas are available including the v60NX, v85NX, v100NX, v130NX and v150NX to deliver seamless, uninterrupted mission-critical communications at sea. President of Estonia Makes Historic Voyage and Manages State Affairs from Antarctica over the Iridium® Network President Kersti Kaljulaid signed digital legally binding documents from Antarctica using Iridium Certus® MCLEAN, VA., Feb. 20, 2020 - Iridium Communications Inc. congratulates Her Excellency Kersti Kaljulaid, President of the Republic of Estonia, on her successful expedition to Antarctica. In commemoration of the 200-year anniversary of its discovery by Estonian born Admiral Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, President Kaljulaid’s efforts included managing state affairs in real-time from Antarctica and signing digital legally binding documents from the polar areas using the weather resilient Iridium Certus specialty satellite broadband service. The trip to Antarctica began on January 27th with the President returning to Estonia on January 31st. President Kaljulaid’s visit to the continent also focused on increasing awareness of the impacts of climate change and demonstrating the opportunities offered by embracing a digital society and eGovernance. As a leading digital economy, Estonia is driving cutting edge technology and changing the way people work. Under Estonia’s eGovernance framework, Estonians and digital nomads can work anywhere in the world. To demonstrate the possibilities, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid literally moved her office to Antarctica for a week. Managing affairs of the State is already a monumental task but managing them from the frozen continent required extra ingenuity. The President used an Iridium Certus terminal from Thales to stay connected and lead the country from one of the most remote areas on the planet. Highlighting this historic event is a post on twitter from President Kaljulaid while in Antarctica, explaining the value of the Estonian digital society. Iridium CEO Matt Desch tweeted in response, “Not hard to see why Estonia is one of the leading digital communications societies when the President is casually doing state business from the bottom of the world. Guess you're just out and about, keeping in touch with Iridium Certus technology? Pretty cool! (literally).” The President compared both digital society and climate change as not recognizing national borders. She emphasized that the polar areas are particularly sensitive to changes in our climate, and that all the countries of the world must find solutions together. “Being a digital society means geography doesn’t matter anymore – we can do business, run the country and communicate with our close ones wherever we are in the world,” she said. This historic visit proves that the world is more connected than ever, and Iridium is honored to play a role. ThinKom Solutions Nominated for Satellite Technology of the Year HAWTHORNE, Calif. – Feb. 24, 2020 – ThinKom Solutions, Inc., today announced it has been nominated for Via Satellite’s 2019 Satellite Technology of the Year for its phased-array antenna solutions. The nominees are chosen based on innovation, benefit to the industry and overall disruption to the satellite landscape. The annual award is presented by Via Satellite magazine to recognize an industry-leading new technology, innovation or concept. The winner will be named at the SATELLITE 2020 Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, March 11. The Via Satellite editorial board commented: “Technologies were evaluated on their ability to meet significant market demand; create clear, significant cost-savings or technical efficiencies; make a profit; improve quality of life; disrupt the market; and demonstrate a scientific breakthrough.” The six nominees were selected by the editorial board, and the winner will be determined by a combination of the editorial board and votes from Via Satellite readers, SATELLITE 2020 attendees and the general public. Voting opened Friday, February 21, and closes on Tuesday, March 10. The public can cast votes online or using the SATELLITE 2020 official mobile app. ThinKom was nominated based on a revolutionary new multi-beam “array of arrays” concept for land-based gateways to communicate with current and next-generation LEO and MEO satellite constellations. The new gateway concept uses multiple tightly arranged VICTS antennas, which are coherently combined to form antenna beams equivalent to parabolic dishes from 2.4m to 7m. The antennas work together to simultaneously track multiple satellites with look angles between 5 and 90 degrees in elevation. The array’s small visual signature, low profile, light weight and low power requirement enables flexible installation in locations such as a rooftop. Bill Milroy, CTO of ThinKom Solutions, said: “We are leveraging our core phased-array VICTS antenna technology, which has been proven in the commercial aviation arena, to bring to market innovative solutions for the multi-band, multi-satellite and multi-constellation future.” During 2019, ThinKom also completed the commercialization of its LEO/MEO/GEO/HEO interoperable Ka-band antenna for in-flight connectivity. The Ka2517 antenna has completed over-the-air tests on multiple GEO and NGSO Ka-band constellations, including an airborne test in which the ThinKom antenna system seamlessly roamed between SES GEO and O3b MEO satellites. The Ka2517 is currently operational on a U.S. military fleet of aircraft and is nearing introduction on several commercial airlines. Multiple STCs are planned this year. In addition, ThinKom recently unveiled a proof-of-concept prototype for a new series of phased-array user terminals aimed at emerging high-volume enterprise and consumer market segments. ThinKom worked closely with a Tier 1 contract manufacturer to incorporate proven high-volume manufacturing processes and materials without compromising performance in terms of spectral efficiency, reliability and constellation interoperability.
Hot News and Commentary
Rocket Lab Selected by NASA to Launch Pathfinder Mission to the Moon 14 February 2020 – Rocket Lab, a space technology company and global leader in dedicated small satellite launch, has been selected by NASA as the launch provider for a small satellite mission to the same lunar orbit targeted for Gateway – an orbiting outpost astronauts will visit before descending to the surface of the Moon in a landing system as part of NASA’s Artemis program. The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) is expected to be the first spacecraft to operate in a near rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon. In this unique orbit, CAPSTONE will rotate together with the Moon as it orbits Earth and will pass as close as 1,000 miles and as far as 43,500 miles from the lunar surface. CAPSTONE will demonstrate how to enter into and operate in this orbit as well as test a new navigation capability. This data will help to reduce navigation uncertainties ahead of future missions for Gateway, as NASA and international partners work to ensure astronauts have safe access to the Moon’s surface. The satellite will be launched on Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle from Launch Complex 2, located within the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, USA. After launch, Rocket Lab’s high performance configurable satellite bus platform, Photon, will deliver CAPSTONE on a ballistic lunar transfer. Photon’s Curie propulsion system will allow the satellite to break free of Earth’s gravity and head to the Moon. After launch, CAPSTONE take approximately three months to enter its target orbit and begin a six-month primary demonstration phase to understand operations in this unique orbit. The mission is targeted for launch in early 2021. Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Peter Beck said “Small satellites like CAPSTONE will play a crucial role in supporting the return of human missions to the Moon and we’re proud to be supporting NASA in this unique and pivotal mission. As a dedicated mission on Electron, we’re able to provide NASA with complete control over every aspect of launch and mission design for CAPSTONE, something typically only available to much larger spacecraft on larger launch vehicles. In the same way we opened access to low Earth orbit for small satellites, we’re proud to be bringing the Moon within reach to enable research and exploration.” Supporting the mission on Electron is Space Exploration Engineering, who will contribute to mission planning, trajectory analysis, orbit determination, as well as KSAT who will provide global ground station coverage for the mission. Ball Aerospace Completes Methanesat Preliminary Design Review BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace successfully completed the preliminary design review (PDR) of the advanced spectrometer instrument for the MethaneSAT Flight System, a 350-kilogram satellite that will locate and measure methane emissions around the globe. With the completion of PDR, Ball will proceed with the critical design phase. "We are excited to be a part of a mission that aims to study and address the impact of methane on the environment and climate," said Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, vice president and general manager, Civil Space, Ball Aerospace. "MethaneSAT fits well with Ball's long history of earth science, our commitment to sustainability and our experience in providing highly-calibrated measurements of environmental factors related to ozone, weather and pollution." MethaneSAT is expected to be launched in 2022 by MethaneSAT LLC, a subsidiary of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The non-profit is dedicated to creating innovative science-based solutions to critical environment challenges, including anthropogenic methane emissions, a significant contributor to global climate change. Two extremely sensitive spectrometers sit at the heart of the Ball-designed instrument that will measure a narrow part of the shortwave infrared spectrum where methane absorbs light, allowing it to detect concentrations as low as two parts per billion. In addition to the MethaneSAT instrument, Ball Aerospace is providing flight systems integration and testing, launch support, and commissioning services. "MethaneSAT is built around a set of high performance technologies and sophisticated analytics tools that when combined provide a major leap in our ability to measure and quantify even low-level methane emissions across the globe from space," said mission co-lead Dr. Steven Hamburg, who also serves as Chief Scientist for Environmental Defense Fund. "We're asking a lot of our technical partners and Ball Aerospace is rising to the occasion." Exotrail Secures Contract with AAC Clyde Space to Equip Their Spacecrafts for Eutelsat’s ELO 3 and 4 Paris – The 19th February 2020: Exotrail, a French company dedicated to providing innovative on-orbit transportation solutions for the small satellite market have announced today that they have signed a contract with AAC Clyde Space, Europe’s leading nanosatellite solutions specialist. Exotrail will equip them with cutting-edge propulsion solutions for their customer, the global satellite telecommunications leader Eutelsat, for its ELO 3 and ELO 4 spacecrafts. The French company will provide propulsion systems for the two 6U CubeSats which will be manufactured and delivered to orbit by AAC Clyde Space. The Eutelsat mission is a precursor to a potential constellation called ELO (Eutelsat LEO for Objects). The contract is to be delivered before the end of the year, both satellites will be launched in 2021. Shetland Space Center Receives £2 million Investment Boost Shetland Space Centre’s (SSC) plan to build and operate a satellite launch site has been given a major boost by a £2,050,000 investment from Leonne International, the international private equity firm. The cash injection, which gives Leonne a 20 per cent stake in the business, will be used for future growth of the company, such as the development of the launch site and ground station in Unst. This was identified in the Sceptre Report, an independent report commissioned for the UK Space Agency, as the optimal location in the UK for launching small satellites into space, a rapidly growing sector of the international economy. SSC’s integrated business model creates revenues from launch, ground and tourism. Shetland’s space economy should be seen as a unique and very valuable asset to the UK where it can support the work done by the other sector initiatives and clusters in the rapidly growing “New Space” economy. Astrocast and Spaceflight ink New Launch Contract Lausanne, Switzerland – February 6, 2020 – Astrocast today announces the signing of a new contract with Spaceflight for the launch of 10 additional IoT nanosatellites. This new contract will be the 6th launch booked with Spaceflight for Astrocast. Both Astrocast’s test and fully functional satellites were also launched with Spaceflight within the last year. In total, Spaceflight is now set to launch 30 of the 100 satellites that will complete the Astrocast IoT Nanosatellite Network. The launch of the satellites is expected to take place in late 2021. “Spaceflight was founded to provide cost effective, reliable rideshare launch services for smallsat companies, such as Astrocast,” said Curt Blake, CEO and president of Spaceflight. “We are excited to continue our partnership with Astrocast as both our companies strive to expand accessibility of an innovative service.” Today only 10% of the earth has access to terrestrial communication networks. However, IoT devices in the remotest areas still need the ability to establish two-way communications to send data such as status information and updates. Astrocast’s IoT Nanosatellite Network of 100 CubeSats is specifically designed to transmit and receive low bandwidth data from IoT devices anywhere in the world. Whether a marine buoy in the deep sea or water purification station in the world’s most remote village, Astrocast will allow companies to exchange data with millions of devices around the globe. Astrocast will be the first IoT nanosatellite constellation to deliver: 100% coverage of the globe including remote areas Lowest latency nanosatellite IoT network Global L-Band frequencies 256 bit encryption with multi-level security Patented data protocol developed and optimized for satellite IoT in partnership with Airbus Communication module smaller than a credit card using a revolutionary low-cost and ultra-low power patented chipset developed in collaboration with the CEA Miniaturized and low-cost antenna Low-cost data plans Web application for monitoring assets and subscription plan “Access to space is the number one challenge for this industry. Astrocast is at an accelerated phase in company growth where it is critical to have experienced partners deploying our constellation,” said Kjell Karlsen CFO of Astrocast. “Spaceflight has proven to be a reliable partner from our very first launch. We couldn’t ask for a better launch and mission management service.”
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Remember the C-Band Alliance? It was all about Intelsat’s commitment to accelerate 5G deployment. Now, in the glare of the FCC’s decision to auction the band itself instead of allowing the CBA to do it, Intelsat finds itself in trouble. The company needs a bailout, but its share of the proposed $15 billion settlement offered by FCC is too little. It's a mere $5 billion. That's not nearly enough to dig it out from under its enormous $14.7 billion debt load. To survive, Intelsat needs a much larger share, up to 67%. That's why it nixed the CBA, demands an increased share of the estimated $15 billion FCC payout, and threatens to use the bankruptcy process to feeze the FCC's auction – all at the expense of America’s rush to 5G. The ensuing battle for dollars is going to be ugly. SES and other satellite operators are crying foul and demanding larger shares of the compensation for themselves. It's going to be a battle royal as the once allied CBA members turn on each other in a fight for the cash, and Intelsat turns the legal screws on the FCC. America needs 5G. So, why go through this mess? Instead, let’s stop pretending the C-Band Alliance was for the public good and bailout Intelsat. Let’s do it now, and get the 5G initiative moving. After all, we bailed out the auto companies. Why can’t we bailout Intelsat? It's not too high a price to pay to speed the introduction of 5G. Anyway, what's a few billion dollars for a struggling foreign satellite operator? Let’s all write letters to Senator John Kennedy and suggest he introduce a Bill to pay the company the $14 billion it needs. Doesn’t Intelsat deserve another chance? To e-mail U.S. Senator Kennedy click here
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Let’s Bailout Intelsat Now and Save 5G!
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If you are not following OneWeb, the news is they aren’t chasing the other three billion anymore. After years of flagellating their investors with the idea that poor folk in the subsistence world were hungry for the Internet, they’ve given up. Their initiative, built on connecting the impoverished hordes, is now focused on a market where the customers have the money to pay. It’s mobility. The problem is, that unlike Telesat and O3b mPower, OneWeb and Starlink are designed for the consumer market. Telesat's satellites are large, vs. those of OneWeb and SpaceX, are high-powered and support average data rates of 22.74 Gbps while OneWeb’s and Space X support 2.17 Gbps and SpaceX’s respectively. Telesat's spacecraft also have high capacity optical links and form a mesh network. O3bmPower, while a MEO, also incorporates many of the same features as Telesat. On the other hand, Starlink’s first batch of satellites don’t have optical links. They still can’t find affordable link technology at affordable prices and volume levels. So, at least for the foreseeable future, like OneWeb, they will have to rely on a massive number of ground stations. Furthermore, neither Starlink nor OneWeb satellites have beamforming capabilities or software-defined radios. What does all this mean for the business consumer? It means a lot. Telesat's high-powered satellites can use smaller, less expensive antennas and can deliver services with Committed Information Rate. Can OneWeb and Starlink? We don’t think so. Crippled by their consumer-focused design, they are likely limited to a “best efforts” service. While retail consumers might pay for a “best efforts” service, we don’t think business customers will. Furthermore, to access the mobility segment of the enterpise market, OneWeb and Starlink would have to sell their services through major vertical integrators such as Speedcast, Marlink, KVH in maritime and Gogo, Global Eagle, and Panasonic in aviation. Never mind the fact that both Telesat and SES are already selling GEO services through them. So, where will OneWeb and Starlink will go to find enough customers to support their multi-billion-dollar investments? We believe both constellations will ultimately be forced to compete for the retail consumer. That means they will have to fight Viasat and Hughes in the Americas, and ViaSat and Eutelsat in Europe. Beating these competitors won’t be easy. In addition to the cost of launching their constellations, OneWeb and Starlink will have to develop their business infrastructure or partner with other companies to sell and service the customer – just as HNS and Viasat have done, and that won’t be cheap. The magic question is, where will Starlink and OneWeb find enough retail customers to justify the enormous cost of their constellations, and how can they grow revenue fast enough to meet a five-year relaunch cycle? Despite their nearly insurmountable obstacles to profitability, they labor onward. Mesmerized by their visions, they count cash in their dreams. Waking up is hard to do.
The LEO - MEO Market Is Enterprise - Not the Unserved Masses
Waking Up is Hard to Do..
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An Interview with Telesast Vice President, Erwin Hudson
Telesat's LEO: Enterprise Grade and Uniquely Competitive
Unlike OneWeb and Starlink, Telesat's LEO is an enterprise-grade platform. It's a constellation focused on best serving global and regional business customers, rather than optimized for direct-to-home consumer markets. As a business platform, it consists of larger, much more powerful components. It features high-powered satellites, digital on-board processing, software-defined radios, and true antenna beamforming. Telesat’s satellite capabilities eclipse those of OneWeb and Starlink. To find out more about how Telesat developed their constellation and why it stands out vs. its competitors, we met with Telesat Vice President, Erwin Hudson. SMW: Can you tell us more about the original design concept and how you plan to reach your target markets? Erwin Hudson: We have designed a uniquely powerful, enterprise-grade B-to-B constellation, featuring optical inter-satellite links, digital on-board processing, software-defined radios, space-based routing and switching, and multiple beams with highly agile beam steering capabilities. We based our business plan on being a wholesale seller of capacity to third party integrators who sell, in turn, into high-value enterprise markets. As a satellite operator, that strategy makes sense. We don’t have to face the daunting challenge and expense of reaching millions of consumer broadband subscribers. Instead, we have adopted a community aggregator model where our customer, a local or regional service provider, takes care of last-mile connectivity, installation, service plans, billing, and customer service. SMW: As LEOS circulate in orbits outside of the equatorial plane, I understand securing regulatory approval could be challenging. What success have you achieved in securing landing rights? Erwin Hudson: Unlike GEO satellite services, where various countries prefer to launch and operate their regional satellites rather than allow global operators to offer service, LEOs are different. There is no way you can build a regional LEO constellation. LEO broadband services are only available from a global operator. As a result, local regulators appear to be way more interested in obtaining capacity from global LEO operators than they have been in the past. SMW: I understand that you plan to have the service available in 2022, and at the time, the constellation would consist of 120 satellites. Are you still on schedule? Why has it taken so long to select a satellite manufacturer? Erwin Hudson: We have been working with multiple manufacturers, and we have essentially completed two designs. We're rapidly coming up on a fork in the road where we will need to choose one of the two designs and begin manufacturing. Our first polar is still scheduled for early 2022, and we expect to have the entire polar constellation in orbit and begin service in the more northern and southern parts of the globe later in 2022. After that, in a period well under a year, we plan to launch the next 120 satellites and begin offering full global service in the first half of 2023. So, our initial schedule is still holding together pretty well. SMW: What is the design-life of the satellites? We have designed our satellites for 10-years of in-orbit operations and two years of ground storage. What we have found is that the incremental cost to design ten-year satellites vs. five-year satellites is not that great. As launch costs are a major cost component of a constellation, longer design life is a significant economic advantage. To further assure maximum ROI, our satellites are designed with digital onboard processing and are almost fully reprogrammable in orbit. We feel that incorporating software-defined flexibility, although it costs more initially, is a far better investment than bearing five year-relaunch costs. SMW: Telesat has recently upgraded the size of its LEO constellation to 300 satellites. The original constellation of 117 satellites was said to require 40 ground stations with 5-6 gateways per station. How will the upgrade to 300 affect the number of ground stations and gateway antennas required? Erwin Hudson: Our original filing was for 117 satellites. What often happens in LEO constellation designs is the exact number of satellites, and the number of orbital planes tends to evolve. We have come a long way, and our constellation design is now complete. We are planning to put 72 satellites in polar orbit in six planes with 12 satellites each plus one spare satellite in each plane, resulting in 78 satellites in polar orbit. We will also add 120 satellites in inclined orbit at 50 degrees. This configuration, which includes both polar and inclined orbits, gives good coverage of the entire earth and a really “thick” layer of coverage between 50 degrees north and 50 degrees south of the equator. Ultimately, we plan to augment constellation capacity by launching another 100 satellites into the inclined orbits. That’s 220 in inclined plus another 78 in polar, resulting in a total of 298 satellites. To fully use all of that capacity, up to fifty strategically placed ground stations will be needed around the world. However, we don’t need to build all of those on day one. Multiple factors determine the number of ground stations needed. Because we have inter-satellite links (ISLs), we have a lot of geographic flexibility, but we don’t want to haul all of our traffic over the ISLs. To support all of the expected demand, we will place ground stations in strategic locations. Of course, there are regulatory requirements in some countries where we must have ground stations to obtain landing rights. Early on, we’re going to build 25-30 ground stations, and those will meet our geometry and regulatory requirements. Then we will add incremental ones to handle all the capacity. SMW: Optical links are a key component of your network. However, Starlink has been unable to find a source for such links at acceptable price and quantity. Has Telesat been able to find suppliers, and what are the implications of a design employing such links? Erwin Hudson: Optical inter-satellite links give us both strategic advantages as well as coverage advantages, especially for aircraft over the Atlantic, the Pacific, the South Pacific, and the polar areas. We have four optical terminals on each satellite. One looks forward, one looks backward in the same orbital plane, and one looks to the left and one to the right for adjacent orbital planes. When you hook all of the satellites together like this, you have a big mesh network in the sky. With 10 Gbps per link times four links on each satellite, we have 40 Gbps per satellite – double that if you count both inbound and outbound. For the capacity we are running across the ISLs, that’s plenty. It gives us a small, very affordable ISL terminal that meets all of our requirements. It’s important to understand, however, that only a modest portion of satellite capacity goes over the inter-satellite links. In areas with heavy demand, we will build ground stations. Whenever possible, traffic will be routed directly to the ground stations rather than over the ISLs. This strategy reduces the demand for ISL capacity and also improves latency, because every time you use an ISL, you add a small increment of additional delay. In terms of data rate, just like with microwave links, if you have enough transmit power, you can operate at whatever bit rate you want. ISLs have almost infinite bandwidth at optical frequencies. Space qualified inter-satellite optical terminals can be manufactured at attractive price points and volumes and are available from several suppliers. The most affordable optical ISL technology is on-off keying. To transmit, you just turn the laser beam on when you want to send a “1” and off when you want to send a “0.” You can build low-cost optical communications terminals using simple on-off keying that work well up 20 to 25 Gbps. Once you go beyond about 25 Gbps, then you may need a phase-modulated waveform like QPSK, which results in higher complexity and higher cost. Using QPSK modulation, laser terminals can operate up to 100 Gbps and beyond. It all comes down to ROI and the business plan. With the smaller satellites that other operators are launching, our ISL approach may not be practical for them due to mass, platform stability and power requirements. Putting the highly capable ISLs we are using on a CubeSat, for example, makes no sense at all. For larger satellites like ours in the several hundred-kilogram class, the impact of the ISLs on the spacecraft vehicle, launch, and thermal and energy storage is pretty minimal. SMW: How difficult is it to maintain connectivity between the satellites using inter-satellite links? Erwin Hudson: You do have to design your satellite platform to support the stability and accurate pointing required for optical communications. The way our links work is that there is an acquisition protocol to establish each satellite-to-satellite connection. The acquisition process incorporates a well-established scan pattern that allows one terminal to link with another terminal. Once the receiving terminal sees flashes of light from the target terminal, there is a fully automatic tracking system that locks on and closes the link and continuously tracks the other satellite, thereby assuring the connection will not be lost. SMW: MIT has calculated that you will be able to deliver around 22.7 Gbps average data rate per satellite (real), far in excess of OneWeb with 2.17 Gbps and Starlink with 5.36 Gbps. Can you tell us more about your target markets? Erwin Hudson: Recall that we are designing a true B-to-B system. We will offer what network engineers call a “layer 2” service. Layer 2 means that our network delivers data packets to end-users in the forward direction and returns end-user data back to service providers in the other direction. Service providers connect to our network and pass data packets to us, and we deliver those packets where they need to go – anywhere in the world. For example, we can provide mobile services into the maritime market, cruise ships, and cargo ships as well as the mobile backhaul and fiber backhaul markets. Our system is flexible enough to serve multiple market segments and offers a range of service classes, including full committed information rate (CIR) services for the most demanding enterprise applications. SMW: Can you give us an example, perhaps in the cruise ship application? How much bandwidth could you deliver to a single cruise ship? Erwin Hudson: We expect that in the next several years, cruise ships will require 500 Mbps to a 1 Gbps of capacity. In the cruise ship market, there is space available for relatively large antennas with LEO tracking capabilities, and most vessels have them. We have already done in-orbit testing with the new Intellian Tri-Band, 2.4 m antennas using our LEO Phase 1 satellite that we launched in January 2018. Using these antennas, we get excellent link performance, high reliability, as well as efficient bandwidth utilization in terms of bits per Hertz, allowing us to deliver well over 1 Gbps to a cruise ship. SMW: Cellular backhaul is a major target market for Telesat. Given the capabilities of the constellation, in the cellular backhaul application, what are your competitive advantage vs. Starlink and OneWeb? Erwin Hudson: Cellular backhaul is a substantial market. There are many parts of the world where people want to extend 4G and 5G services into remote areas. We will serve telcos and ISPs around the world where the performance and economics of our LEO backhaul provide a much more effective way to connect remote populations to their 3G/4G/5G backbone. For 5G, in particular, lots of towers are needed, and they often need to be close together in clusters. To backhaul those clusters to data centers, I think there is going to be a big demand for satellite. These are hundreds of megabits type applications, not gigabit applications. We need antennas that can be mounted on towers or next to towers. As far as how we differentiate ourselves from competitors, we expect to have better availability on our links and better rain resistance. We can also serve lower-cost smaller antennas that require less power to transmit and are easier to mount in the field – a significant advantage where cell sites employ solar power, for example. SMW: One major market you plan to address is aviation. GEO will be serving a large percentage of the aviation market by the time LEO is avaiable . Will LEO displace GEO in aero? How do you see the use between LEO and GEO unfolding? Erwin Hudson: We do think LEO services will be much better than GEO, thereby encouraging airlines to switch as quickly as possible. You may recall that Global Eagle recently flew their testbed aircraft to our Allan Park Teleport for testing on our LEO Phase 1 satellite, and they were extremely impressed with the performance. New aircraft may have LEO terminals factory installed. Transitioning existing aircraft from GEO to LEO terminals may need to be done in phases as part of the airline’s major maintenance schedule. Many airlines are already looking at terminal technologies to future-proof their connectivity decisions and allow them to access multiple orbits, such as Gilat’s ESA terminal, which we recently tested with Telesat’s LEO and GEO satellites. SMW: What is your take on flat-panel antennas? Do you see these antennas as key to the delivery of your LEO services? Erwin Hudson: I think the technology will continue to mature. There must be 15 or more companies that are developing new flat panel antennas. Many of them have very different technologies. We have been working with several and have done a lot of on-orbit testing with our LEO Phase 1 satellite to evaluate real-world performance. We’ve tested a new Ball Aerospace antenna array, Gilat's new high-speed modems, and other advanced antenna technologies, including Thinkom’s new Ka-band antenna. Many of the antennas we have evaluated are well suited to particular market segments, and we will likely be using several different types of flat panel arrays across our customer base. For us, in addition to performance, the price point is a crucial issue. User antennas must be affordable – the upfront price for the customer terminal is always a barrier to entry. Manufacturing in volume is only one element of achieving a manageable price. Integrating inherently low-cost technologies like 3-D printing and automated assembly and manufacture is also key. We believe that low-cost antennas will allow us to penetrate our target markets more rapidly. SMW: HTS, LEO, and MEO capacity is exploding. OneWeb and Starlink have launched their first satellites and Amazon is also planning to enter the market with project Kuiper since your constellation was first announced. In addition to the LEO entrants, ViaSat is launching its one terabit satellites, and SES is upgrading its MEO component with beam steering satellites. In short, a huge amount of capacity is coming on-line. How has your view of the competitive environment and Telesat’s position evolved given the rapidly accelerating competition? Erwin Hudson: We believe in our business plan and our technical solution. Unlike our LEO competitors, SpaceX and OneWeb whom it appears initially designed their systems with a consumer focus, our constellation is designed to deliver high- quality services into enterprise markets. Even if you compare us to satellites in higher orbits, such as Viasat 3 and mPower, we offer sub-100 millisecond latency, which is undoubtedly a critical differentiating factor. We will also provided committed information rate services with SLA commitments, while OneWeb and Starlink may be offering only a “best-effort” service. That feature alone sets us apart from other LEOs. Given our unique combination of valuable features, including high-power, optical inter-satellite links, and beam-steering, we have high confidence in our ability to successfully execute our business plan, even in a competitive market.
"Unlike GEO, where various countries can launch and operate satellites with regional coverage and keep out global operators, LEOs are different. There is no way you can build a regional LEO constellation. LEO broadband services are only available from a global operator. As a result, local regulators appear to be way more interested in obtaining capacity from global LEO operators than they have been in the past ."
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"What we found is that the incremental cost to design a ten-year satellite vs. five-year satellites is really not that great. As launch costs are a major cost component of a constellation, a longer design life is a significant economic advantage."
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About Erwin Hudson: Erwin Hudson is Vice President, Telesat LEO. He is responsible for directing the development and implementation of Telesat’s planned LEO satellite constellation . Mr. Hudson is one of the industry’s most experienced executives in satellite-enabled broadband networks. He was Chief Technology Officer at WildBlue Communications, an early satellite broadband provider later acquired by ViaSat. Prior to WildBlue, Mr. Hudson was a senior executive at Space Systems Loral and, before that he was Director Satellite Communications at TRW Space & Electronics. Mr. Hudson recently led the ViaSat team that NBN Co selected to provide the ground infrastructure for the satellite portion of Australia’s National Broadband Network. Mr. Hudson earned an Electrical Engineering degree from North Carolina State University, a Masters in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University and a Professional Engineers Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California.
Speedcast: Crisis and Opportunity - Plotting The Way Forward
An Exclusive Interview With New Co-CEO, Joe Spytek
During the past few years, Speedcast has experienced exponential growth. Now, buried by an avalanche of debt and a collapsed stock price, the company is in the midst of sweeping management change and a major restructuring. P.J. Beylier has resigned, and Industry veterans and Speedcast Board members Joe Spytek and Peter Shaper are temporarily at the helm of the company as co-CEOs. To find out how Joe and Peter plan to reinvigorate Speedcast, we headed out to Middleburg, VA, for an exclusive interview with Joe. We were delighted to find him in very high spirits and with a great deal of enthusiasm for the future of the company. Here's what he had to say. SMW: You had mentioned that you are working on recapitalizing the company. What is the status of your efforts, and can you tell us more about the plan and its execution? Joe Spytek: We are looking at a range of options to recapitalize the business that will give us the flexibility to improve operational efficiency and focus on implementing the long term strategy. SMW: There are rumors that the government business is up for sale as part of an effort to reduce debt. Is that true, and do you contemplate any other divestitures of assets? In this situation, one standard step would be to review the sale of assets. We believe strongly in the long-term opportunities this business presents, and we have a plan in place to address the critical short-term actions to right-size the organization without the need to divest. SMW: As we are all aware, integration of the Speedcast companies is a prime priority. As very little progress has been made to date, what steps will you take to finally integrate the companies into a cohesive organization focused on organic growth? Joe Spytek: Let me start by saying the P.J. Beylier has done a great job in creating what is, undoubtedly, the best platform in the industry. Speedcast is the largest provider in the key verticals where we operate. There is a lot of work to be done to bring the business together and get it firing on all cylinders. To accomplish that goal, we have initiated a major project to transform the business. I truly believe that there is a lot of opportunity to turn the company around, especially regarding integration. There are a lot of inefficiencies that exist today. For example, we can make improvements by combining networks, fully saturating outbound transponders, moving to the latest technologies in hub and modem platforms, and consolidating some of our platforms into larger global networks. To resolve the integration issues, we have partnered with an outside group within McKinsey called RTS that has a proven approach for transformational change for clients seeking rapid sustainable performance improvement. The project will be a true partnership, not a typical fee-for-service deal. The results of McKinsey’s efforts determine compensation. The engagement itself begins with an analysis of the industry and Speedcast’s position in the industry. We look at both the immediate and long-term, and based on the results, strategies, and action plans are developed designed to transform the business. Within a few months, we should start to see some meaningful change. However, to get the business fully integrated and operating well, it will probably take 12 to 18 months. The project is essential for our employees, customers, and shareholders. SMW: Other than integration and recapitalization, to turn the company around what other pressing issues need to be resolved? Joe Spytek: One of the major problems has been that our employees have been unable to execute on their ideas. There a lot of great people in the industry, and we have a lot of them at Speedcast. I want to unleash this talent and let our people do their jobs. That’s starting to occur already. It started on day one when we got up on stage at our first meeting in front of dozens of Speedcast employees. We are going to push decision making down the organization to people on the front lines, those that are close to the customer. We have to make the customers’ interests central to our business. Decentralization is key. In the past, the company shifted toward a centralized environment that disconnected us from the customer. For example, technological innovations were sometimes developed in a vacuum, essentially without customer input. In an organization serving diverse market segments, feedback from the field in each vertical is essential. In a service business, you have to be sure that change is customer-driven. If you provide the technologies and services that the customer needs, there is no reason for them to leave you. It’s a lot easier to retain existing customers than to find new ones. So, our focus has to be not just new revenue, but profitable, recurring revenue. In that regard, we need to understand more than why we won business. We need to understand what caused us to lose business. That’s how you build incremental growth in this industry. SMW: I understand you are seeking a new CEO. What are the key qualities of the executive you are seeking? Joe Spytek: We’re looking for someone who has the same view of the market that we do, that sees Speedcast as a customer service business. That’s the number one quality. Next, we want someone accustomed to operating a business in a transparent, accountable, and decentralized way. We have over 1,500 employees scattered in numerous countries around the world. If we empower employees to their job, and they are held held accountable, then the business can function more effectively. SMW: There have been reports that the IT infrastructure is badly in need of an upgrade. What are your plans for resolving the IT issue? Joe Spytek: IT was a struggle in past integration efforts. Several ongoing projects are underway to remedy that situation. We will roll up most of these initiatives into our new Transitions Management Office which is staffed by internal and external personnel. There, projects are all being consolidated, prioritized, staffed, actioned, and the results will be measured. Executing strategies is all about holding those responsible for the completion of action plans. McKinsey has strong expertise in this area and will assist in helping us to enforce accountability. SMW: Since the introduction of the Sigma Gateway, there have been few, if any, introductions of new, value-added services. Are there any new initiatives currently underway, including partnerships with new suppliers or software developers? In the past two years, we have not spent as much time innovating for our customer base. We will be making significant investments in SIGMA Gateway. We want to be able to serve a wider portion of the market with the product, and we also want to cross verticals with it. In the past, it has been primarily a maritime-focused product. We believe it has significant upside with energy customers as well. In addition to offering the product in new verticals, there are other initiatives underway with SIGMA. We’re working on enhanced cybersecurity services, distribution of electronic charts, and enhancements in e-mail as well as the development of mobile applications. E-learning, crew welfare, including a full suite of entertainment options, and SD-WAN services, are also on the plate. Also, our government business has a very effective cybersecurity offering that they offer their customers, and we are looking at providing a declassified version of the same service for customers in the energy and enterprise space. SMW: In 2017, Speedcast agreed to a “take or pay” agreement to sell 2,000 ship Fleet express by 2022. What is the status of this deal with Inmarsat? Let me say that we value our strategic relationship with Inmarsat, and we want to figure out the best way to leverage that relationship. So far, we have installed Fleet Xpress on nearly1,000 vessels. So, we are halfway through our commitment to install 2,000 vessels by 2022, and we have thousands of other vessels we can bring to the table. The agreement is a win for both Speedcast and Inmarsat, and we intend to continue to execute on the agreement. SMW: As deep drilling sector is the prime source of VSAT revenue, do you have any initiatives planned to increase business in that segment. What is your thinking on the future potential of business given the ongoing glut in oil demand? First of all, we aim to be the very best provider in the offshore drilling sector, and that’s not easy to do. We understand the needs of our customer base. Peter and I have the background and industry understanding to support the strong teams we have across the organization to make the needed changes to be that high availability, trusted provider for our energy customers. However, the offshore drilling and production segment, which generates seventy per-cent of our energy-related revenue, is not increasing significantly. It's only growing in low single digits. To compensate for the muted growth in offshore drilling and production, we are going to diversify within our customer base to provide other services beyond the traditional connectivity to offshore rigs and production platforms. For example, we are going to offer systems integration and managed services for fiber networks in a major offshore gas field in Mozambique. SMW: Speedcast is currently the largest buyer of GEO capacity. Does the company also expect to be a major buyer of LEO capacity, and, if so, for what segments do you see LEO as the most attractive solution? We see the availability of LEOs as an opportunity rather than a threat, and we are engaged in strategic partnership discussions with all the major LEO providers. As a trusted solutions provider, we expect to offer the best solutions. I am confident that given Speedcast's global platform, excellent people, and an injection of new capital, we can reinvigorate the company.
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"One of the major problems has been that employees have been unable to execute on their ideas. There a lot of great people in the industry, and we have a lot of them in Speedcast. I want to unleash the talent in those people and let them do their jobs."
About Joe Spytek: Joe Spytek has more than 25 years of experience in entrepreneurial leadership and international business. He has spent his career successfully growing small technology concepts into global organizations. Most recently, Joe served as the Founder and Chief Executive Officer for ITC Global, driving the strategic direction and growth for the organization that provides end-to-end satellite communications to energy, mining and maritime companies operating in remote and harsh environments. The company became a subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation in 2015 when Joe coordinated the sale of the business to Panasonic’s mobility communications division. Before he co-founded ITC Global in 2001, Joe built several successful international telecommunications companies including Caribbean Network Management, the first independent telecommunications provider in the Netherlands Antilles, which was later sold to Belgacom Group and remains the number two carrier in the region. Joe began his career in the maritime industry with Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, where he spent more than 200 days per year at sea, ultimately becoming the company’s youngest certified submersible pilot. Joe holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University.
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With Roni Stoleru, VP Antenna Products & Strategy
Gilat's New ESA: Flying High and Connected
Development and commercialization of flat-panel, cost-efficient, electronically steered antenna (ESA) is an arduous and lengthy process. Today, many companies are pursuing that goal, yet none have achieved it. Gilat is different. In an exclusive live demonstration for Satellite Mobility World, we have seen their antenna in action. On February 12th, over a Webex link between Tel Aviv, and a commercial jet flying at thirty-seven thousand feet over eastern Canada, Gilat showcased their antenna's capabilities. As the Telesat LEO rose above the horizon, we experienced a live switch over from GEO and the LEO. What we saw was impressive both in terms of image resolution and latency. To see it for yourself, we urge you to view the video of the demo, which is embedded in this interview. Don't miss it. To find out more about the antenna, its development, and the challenges overcome to produce an ESA, we interviewed Roni Stoleru, VP of Antenna Products and Strategy. SMW: The complexity of tracking satellite antennas is a non-trivial matter, how does Gilat see the evolution or perhaps revolution of this market? Roni Stoleru: In today’s GEO and NGSO satellite constellations, antenna technologies must support multi-beam, and frequency reuse approaches, as well as simultaneous connectivity to more than a single satellite for seamless handovers. For multi-satellite constellations such as LEO, beam to beam handover could be as often as every 3 to 5 minutes. In the case of mechanically steered antennas, this would mandate two separate units (since a single antenna can’t simultaneously connect two different satellites at two different orbital locations), which implies additional cost as well as weight, footprint and volume occupancy. In the past and still in most cases today, the great majority of tracking terminals are based on mechanically steered antennas. A fully electronically steered antenna (ESA) is the optimal solution to meet the challenge of multi-frequency reuse and beam switching requirements. As an added benefit, ESAs open up new markets. Looking at inflight connectivity (IFC) as an example, the ultra-low-profile dimension of an electronically steered antenna opens new verticals such as broadband connectivity to business aviation and general aviation aircraft. Up till now, L-band high gain antennas (HGA) or tail mount antennas (TMA) had to be used on these aircraft. SMW: Electronically Steered Antenna (ESA) terminals are often touted as the ultimate solution in terminal technology? What are the major advantages? Roni Stoleru: There are many. Here are a few. Enhanced reliability: There are no moving parts. Antennas don’t track the satellites mechanically. ESAs do beam steering by software reconfiguration, automatically adjusting in near real-time both azimuth and elevation directions. Automatic antenna pointing: With ESAs, all you need to do is to place the antenna on a rooftop or any fixed or mobility platform, provide power and connectivity to the modem, and the antenna will automatically point to the right satellite and track it. Automation of the installation process eliminates the need for a highly-skilled technician, reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO). Support multiple beams that share the same aperture: As antenna gain is a function of the effective aperture size, each of the separate beams would enjoy the maximal gain while operating simultaneously. Each of the beams can be steered to different orbital locations, thereby supporting "make before break" switching between satellites. ESAs support flexible and customizable array shaping and scaling: To conform to restrictive mounting spaces and other than flat surfaces, they can incorporate conformal designs, thereby maximizing gain and performance. Signal amplification is done inside the array itself: This design improves antenna efficiency and minimizes losses between antenna and transceiver. Such is the case in phased array antennas implemented using designed Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFICs). It has no moving parts: Lack of moving parts makes the antenna easy to manufacture and assemble, greatly reducing production costs. SMW: Can you shed light on the challenges entailed in bringing such an antenna to market? Why does it take so long? Roni Stoleru: First of all, developing ESAs is a highly complicated process. Gilat started the development of this technology many years ago. It takes a lot of time and experience to implement designs for various platforms, applications, and frequency bands. Secondly, it is not only the RFIC core that powers the antenna that requires significant work. Development should include the design of special radiating elements, transmit and receive arrays architecture, feeding network layers, transmit and receive sub-modules, as well as power and control components to have a fully functioning system. Finally, a mechanical structure, addressing heat dissipation and weight factors, must also be taken into account. Gilat is one of the few antenna companies that can do all of this in-house. After overcoming these challenges, we have recently released our 3rd generation RFIC chipset and have demonstrated our Ka-band ESA in various ground and flight test environments. An example is the ESA terminal that we are developing together with Airbus as part of the CleanSky2 project. In this program, Gilat has designed and manufactured the Ka-band terminal system, including the RFIC, the entire transmit and receive antenna modules, as well as the waveform and modem in use. Another challenge is that in certain markets, you need to design for the specific environmental and electromagnetic requirements. For example, military-grade antenna terminals must meet mil-spec requirements as well as DO-160G aero antenna requirements. Moreover, our subsidiary, Wavestream, has significant experience in bringing line-fit qualified products supporting both Airbus and Boeing specific standards. We also need to address the terminal cost. It's key and sometimes an enabler to many new markets and applications. For example, the design of a low-cost ESA for consumer broadband is quite different from a maritime antenna or a high-performance multi-functional aero antenna. With enhanced manufacturing techniques and an increase in delivery volumes, we could drive production and equipment costs down - making the NGSO powered ESA offering, more attractive. Power consumption is also a critical parameter in many of the ESA applications. In some remote applications, power is limited and in others, extreme climatic conditions necessitate cooling technology (e.g. with an aero antenna under the radome on a hot day). Last, I would mention the issues of quality and production. To deliver many antennas to our customers, Gilat has its own antenna production facility where our antennas are being built, tested, calibrated, and delivered to our customers. Gilat is continuously investing and improving its production lines. Today our facilities both in the USA and in Bulgaria hold the AS9100D certification. SMW: How do NGSO constellations affect the need and development of ESA? Roni Stoleru: Unlike with GEO satellites, where tracking antennas are only mandatory for mobility platforms, NGSOs mandate the use of tracking antennas for both mobility as well as fixed applications. The big promise of the new NGSO constellations is the abundance of capacity that hopefully will drive down bandwidth operational costs, as well as introduce high-quality low-latency communication services. Looking just at the fixed application, a bundled offering of a low-cost terminal, together with the cheaper bandwidth cost, could revolutionize the ESA technology penetration to many of the traditional parabolic (dish) antenna served markets. For mobility, having an efficient, low profile ESA that can operate on multiple satellites and constellations, is critical (e.g. 4K video streaming running over high capacity HTS/VHTS GEO satellite and low-latency voice applications running on LEO satellites). SMW: Last December and then again in February, Gilat demonstrated a first-ever successful operation of its ESA terminal flying on Honeywell's commercial test aircraft over Ka-band capacity on Telesat's high throughput satellite and then over Telesat's LEO-1 satellite. Can you elaborate further? Roni Stoleru: This demonstration was the first-ever was the first-ever on a commercial aircraft over Ka-band, operating with GEO as well as LEO satellites. Our primary motivation was to demonstrate the maturity of our Ka-band ESA technology in both ground and aero environments, paving the way for Gilat's upcoming aero ESA, which would be fuselage mountable. As part of this initiative, we passed a set of safety-of-flight qualification tests successfully delivered the equipment to Honeywell to complete the first Ka-band ESA antenna installation onboard their Boeing 757 testbed aircraft. During the December 2019 flight demonstration, we performed a comprehensive set of tests such as stable operation under extreme airplane maneuvers, in-and-out of satellite beam scenarios and as it happened, stable operation under heavy turbulence conditions. The system performed well over our expectations, demonstrating gate-to-gate operation. While cruising at 37K feet, we tested multiple applications concurrently, such as video conferences as well as 4K video streaming from YouTube and including 18 users running various applications simultaneously. Then, in February 2020, we continued with our testing, over an NGSO. Gilat's high throughput and small form factor ESA operated continuously over GEO then instantaneously switched connectivity to LEO and back to GEO again. The ESA terminal demonstrated high performance, with broadband throughput of up to 58 Mbit/sec on both FWD and RTN, round trip delay as low as 18msec and robust operation at low elevation angles of down to 20 degrees. SMW: As we move forward, what are the prime applications for ESA, and when do you expect such antenna terminals to be on the market? Where does Gilat fit in with ESA terminals? Roni Stoleru: We are most pleased with the keen interest that this progress is generating in the IFC market for both a short-term and long-term product. The successful demonstrations were a significant step towards a commercial ESA aero antenna product. As a result of the successful demonstration, we have already teamed up with one of the leading integrators to introduce a single LRU terminal, which will include the antenna, the adapter, skirt, and radome in a tightly packaged solution. We plan to showcase this solution at the Satellite 2020 exhibition in Washington D.C. in March, and we welcome interested parties to visit our booth: 1017 and take a look and hear about this exciting offering. We are already hard at work on our next generation RFIC technology, which will introduce enhanced capabilities to our next generation terminal offering, expected availability in the 2022 timeframe. This antenna architecture will address the unique features of the NGSO constellations, and we plan to have the terminal in time for their start of service. As we see significant market demand, our goal is to introduce a commercial terminal within 2020. As our technology is now proven, the next step is to package it to the specific vertical market requirements.
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About Roni Stoleru: About Roni Roni Stoleru, VP Antenna Products & Strategy at Gilat is responsible for antenna product roadmap definition and presales support. Stoleru holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering & Electronics from Ben Gurion University and an MBA in Technologies Management & Information Systems from Tel-Aviv University in Israel.
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It's now been nearly six month since ST Engineering's acquisition of Newtec. The melding of the two companies has profound significance for the satellite industry, and, in particular, for mobility markets. For the most part, product lines are complimentary resulting in broad competitive capabilites across mobility segments. To find out how the combination of the two companies impacts shipping, aero and land mobility, we met with Thomas Van den Driessche, Chief Commercial Officer and former Newtec CEO. SMW: ST Engineering completed the acquisition of Newtec on October 1, 2019. Both companies are leaders in different technologies. iDirect has been the leader in TDMA, and Newtec has developed a very strong position as a pioneer and leader in Dynamically Allocated SCPC or MX-DMA. Can you address the impact of the combined product lines on the following mobility markets: 1) maritime cargo vessels, cruise vessels, 2) commercial aircraft and business aircraft, and 3) land mobility. Thomas Van den Driessche: Through the consolidation of two companies, we have created one business with a strong portfolio of products across all mobility markets. We are well prepared to serve both high and low-demand bandwidth markets, as well as enabling multi-service operators with the combination of iDirect TDMA, and Newtec Mx-DMA and high-speed SCPC. The cargo market is more suited to the iDirect TDMA platform, which can handle IoT applications such as the transmission of sensor data, in addition to broadband for the crew. In the high-demand cruise market and aero market, the Newtec Dialog platform is an excellent fit. We believe there are use cases for both the Newtec iDirect Velocity platform. For example, Velocity platform is deployed by Inmarsat, and Dialog is the product of choice for Panasonic’s service. In the land market, we are focused on first responders. Our ATDMA, SCPC and Mx-DMA implementations support low signal-to-noise ratios, while maintaining efficiency for higher speed applications. Here we offer Kymeta’s flat panel antenna with an iDirect modem embedded that also works with our Newtec modems. SMW: Satellite technology is advancing very rapidly. The latest developments include real-time beam-switching in LEO and MEO markets. What challenges are you facing in upgrading existing modem technology to adapt to these changes, and how do you plan to resolve them? Thomas Van den Driessche: We have been accommodating LEO and MEO for a while. In fact, our first tests were with Telesat over a year ago. Both our AMC 5001 and the iQ 800 have multi-beam capabilities. So, we can switch between MEOs and GEOs and do “make before break” in aero. Furthermore, our aero and maritime modems are software-defined. It is software-defined architecture that creates the flexibility to add new multi-orbit capabilities in the future. SMW: We continue to hear about the advantages of satellite hub and modem infrastructure based on 5G standards, especially regarding leveraging the volume economics generated by the global emergence of 5G. Is this possible and, if so, how can it be achieved? Thomas Van den Driessche: A key objective of our development program is to integrate with telcos and enterprises. We are architecting our infrastructure in compliance with 5G to assure compatibility with 5G terrestrial networks. One goal is connecting our hubs to the Cloud. Another is meeting terrestrial standards for transport systems so that a service provider can easily connect through the transport layer. We believe that 5G will dramatically change how satellite is integrated to achieve full interoperability within the end-to-end 5G network. 5G integration creates the ultimate opportunity for the satellite industry to break out of its niche and for satellite service providers to offer a much wider range of services and empower end-users anywhere in the world with consistent, reliable, high-performance experiences. Telecom companies will be able to leverage the orbital planes and access additional endpoints based on our 5G interoperability. When our technology is embedded in their network, it looks no different from their existing operational network. As our technologies evolve, we will bring them forward in a seamless way. Our customers are excited about a move towards virtualization because they can seamlessly migrate from the physical infrastructure in their gateway to the Cloud in a gradual way. It's an approach that makes sense for their business. To this end, we are actively driving the industry forward to ensure satellite is represented in all the telecom forums. We are also involved with consortia dedicated to the integration of satellite into 5G networks such as SATis5 and the ESA Artes OSMOSIS project. The work that these consortia are driving will ultimately contribute to the easier integration of satellite into terrestrial and wireless networks. And it will help service providers worldwide reach significant new markets. SMW: IoT is fast becoming a major application for satellite connectivity. What challenges does it present for hub and modem infrastructure, and how will the company resolve them? Thomas Van den Driessche: We are introducing a Platform-as-a-Service model for IoT applications, featuring a set of IoT terminals explicitly designed for narrow-band communication, both in Ka- and Ku-band configuration. The terminals will address both fixed and mobile applications and will be integrated into our hub infrastructure. With them, maritime and aero customers can do both broadband and IoT applications on GEO satellites utilizing their existing infrastructure and capacity investments. This offering will help our existing satellite operator and service provider customers to capture some of the fast-growing IoT market. We will be announcing and showcasing the offering at Sat2020. So, stay tuned for more details. SMW: You have recently released the iDirect iQ LTE, a software-defined hybrid modem that offers high-efficiency connectivity over satellite or LTE. Can you tell us more about the product? Thomas Van den Driessche: The iQ LTE modem can switch between satellite and LTE automatically. With the VSAT and LTE IP streams consolidated under a single IP network and no user intervention required due to the automated switching, the user can stay in constant communication. The combination of LTE and satellite in a single modem is very useful in the context of business continuity and resilience, and that brings a lot of value to the end-user customer. For example, if LTE connectivity is disrupted, Automatic Teller Machines can use satellite as a backup. The automatic switching from primary cellular coverage to satellite and back can serve the banking, maritime, and enterprise markets efficiently, ensuring that real-time communication for critical operations is never affected. In addition to backup functionality, the modem can combine both LTE and satellite IP data steams to achieve higher bandwidth transmission. This functionality is especially useful in applications such as video transmission, where high-quality video is a requirement. SMW: I understand entire networks -from satellite to end user – are now moving to software-defined infrastructure. Can you explain the significance of this transition as it relates to your target markets? What are the benefits for the end-users? Thomas Van den Driessche: Software-defined infrastructure provides unique flexibility and extends the useful life of the hardware. With it, we can customize the modem to support future applications. For example, we designed our early modems to be software-defined before there was much talk about LEOs and MEOs. Today, we have the potential to update them to support LEO and MEO requirements. In addition, a software-defined architecture allows us to accommodate the different payloads on the many types of satellites. If we were to design a satellite specific modem, that sort of accommodation would not be possible. Of course, with the availability of new, high-power, and lower-cost processors, there will still be justification to upgrade the hardware platform. SMW: DVB S2X is the latest standard for downlink broadcast. As all modem hub and modem companies are employing this technology, can you explain how ST Engineering’s implementation differs from that of other manufacturers? Thomas Van den Driessche: Different manufacturers employ the standard in different ways. Here’s how the implementations differ. First of all, not all manufacturers deploy DVB-S2X across all of their modems. It is fully implemented On our Newtec and iDirect platforms across all modem types, not just the high-end modems. The second differentiator is the capability to handle the new, extreme wide-band satellite transponders. The Dialog technology can handle 500 Mega Symbols across the forward links, which means it can manage the ultra-large, 200 MHz transponders across both hubs and modems. You don’t have to break up the beams, which harms efficiency. The third differentiator is whether the full capabilities of modulation inherent on DVB-S2X are used. For example, it is critical to be able to deploy both high and low levels of modulation. In our hardware, for most applications, we can go up to 256 APSK. This capability allows maximum efficiency in clear weather, and in cloudy weather, you can still use the lower levels of modulation to go through clouds and rain. If you compare products from different vendors, you will find that not all vendors have the ability to work at such high levels of modulation. The last element is energy efficiency. How much power do you need to close the link? You will find that the amount of power required to close the link differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. SMW: Newtec, working with Panasonic, developed an ultra-high-speed aero modem. However, antenna technology is still lagging. In particular, the flat panel steerable antennas necessary for LEOs and MEOs have yet to emerge. In response, ST Engineering has recently formed a JV with Satixfy names Jet-Talk Limited. Can you tell us more about the JV, the ultimate objective, and how it is progressing? Thomas Van den Driessche: The goal of the JV is to build phased array antennas in both Ka and Ku-Band with advanced tracking capabilities for MEO and GEO satellites. The first antenna will be in Ku-band and will be available at the end of 2020. In 2021, there will be a Ka-Band aero antenna. Once the antennas are completed, each will go through the certification process for aero. SMW: Despite success in mobility and broadcast markets, ST Engineering and Newtec combined have a relatively small share of the cellular backhaul market. How will the combined resources of iDirect and Newtec help you gain a larger share of the cellular backhaul market? Recently, our position in the cellular backhaul market has grown. If you analyzed all of the available market data available for 2018, you would find that we have a fourteen per-cent market share. However, in a 2019 study, you would see that we have an over twenty-five per-cent share. While our competitors have a large percentage of the legacy market, we are the market leader in 4G, and we are getting a 50 per-cent share of these new installs. SMW: Steve Collar, SES CEO, often speaks about the need for interoperability of networks. As we know, it isn’t practical for satellite operators to continue to duplicate assets. Now, with Comtech’s acquisition of Gilat, and ST Engineering’s acquisition of Newtec, most of the hub and infrastructure market is split between the two companies. Given the competitive divide, what are the chances we can see interoperability between the two competitive sets of technologies and inter-network roaming across platforms? Thomas Van den Driessche: We very much agree with Steve Collar’s vision and the need for interoperability of networks. Today, we are very focused on enabling interoperability between operators and service providers that have invested in our platforms. Our aim is to enable roaming across networks and constellations with ease, so that our customers can employ the optimum bandwidth for the application at hand. We have been very bold in collaborating with technology partners to push these innovations forward, but this is not something that we will achieve on our own. Like with 5G, we firmly believe that to create the complete end-to-end network and seamless connectivity experience for end-users - through roaming and otherwis - we need to commit to active, industry-wide collaboration on a large scale. It is only through such collaboration that we will be able to reach satellite’s full potential and create new opportunities for our customers—in any market.
An Interview with Chief Commercial Officer, Thomas Van den Driessche
iDirect & Newtec: The Merger and its Impact on Mobility Markets
"We believe that 5G will dramatically change how satellite is integrated to achieve full interoperability within the end-to-end 5G network. 5G integration creates the ultimate opportunity for the satellite industry to break out of its niche and for satellite service providers to offer a much wider range of services and empower end-users anywhere in the world with consistent, reliable, high-performance experiences."
IoT Terminal
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About Thomas Van den Driessche.. Thomas Van den Driessche is the president of the executive strategic board & chief commercial officer of ST Engineering iDirect, where he is responsible for defining our strategy, execution and communications to achieve short- and long-term goals. Prior to ST Engineering iDirect, Van den Driessche was the CEO of Newtec where, during his 11-year tenure, he held various positions including sales and business development, VP of market strategy, and chief commercial officer, before becoming CEO. Preceding Newtec, he began his career as a product manager in the broadcast and AV market, and received awards for his work by leading organizations such as NAB, Infocomm and Vanguard. Van den Driessche holds a Master’s degree in electronics and marketing from the University of Ghent.
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Isotropic Systems: An ESA That's Different & Uniquely Promising Daringly Different
An Update with CEO, John Finney
In the race to develop electronically steered antennas, not all antennas are the same. While most developers have incorporated traditional flat panel configurations, their designs have a variety of disadvantages. Characteristically, they perform poorly at low look angles, have high levels of power consumption, generate excessive heat, and many have limited scalability. So, when we find a new design that overcomes most of these disadvantages, that's news. In the quest for such a design, Isotropic Systems is unique. Unlike other developers, their design relies on optical beamforming technology, implemented in a honeycomb-like assembly of individual beamforming modules. To find out how the technology works, why it offers unusual promise, and how its development has progressed since our 2018 interview, we set up a follow-up call with CEO, John Finney. SMW: In your last interview with Satellite Mobility World in April of 2018, you were well into the development of a Ku-band antenna and planning for a Ka-band unit. Could you update us on the status of both antennas? What progress have you made, and when do you anticipate the commercial release of each type of antenna? We will be doing a demonstration in Q3, which will showcase true digital beamforming. It will be multi-beam, without sharing the aperture across the links, and it will feature “true time delay,” and closed- loop tracking. It will confirm that we have reached a very solid Technology Readiness Level (TRL) “seven." While “nine” is the level when you are actually in the market with a Beta,“seven” is when you have demonstrated all of the features in an operational environment. You will recall that originally, we started with Ku-Band. At that time, most of the market opportunity was in that Band. Later on, based on the emergence of Ka-Band LEO and MEO constellations that targeted at enterprise markets, Telesat, Inmarsat, and mPower, we made the strategic decision to shift to Ka-Band. Even though the consumer-focused, mega- constellations, OneWeb, and SpaceX and even Amazon are moving very quickly, their systems are not yet fully funded to the operational level. While we hope there are more and more such constellations, we want to be sure that we are delivering a product to a market that we know with certainty exists. Consequently, we look at SES, Telesat, and Inmarsat for a number of reasons. They are built for and are targeting enterprise markets. They will likely be operational within an 18-month widow and will deliver massive amounts of capacity. However, there is very little competition for the multi-beam ground terminals required for their wide-scale deployment. From a competitive standpoint, none of the ESAs or the emerging flat panel antenna companies have a fully funded Ka-Band development program. We also think that their technology is limited in higher frequencies, especially in terms of power consumption and digital signal processing. When they try to scale up in Ka-Band, it won't be easy. Because our development program is well funded, and we perform well at low power levels and at high frequencies, we aim to be the market leader. SMW: Can you tell us more about your approach to hardware development? Unlike some companies who have gone down the path of developing their own ASIC in house, we decided to take full advantage of the generic IP that is available from some of the biggest design houses in the world. Our ASIC will leverage their development efforts and be able to switch from Ka-Band to Ku-Band within the same beamformer. Our strategy essentially supports a fully software-defined radio with the ability to work across a number of frequencies, Ka and Ku, in particular, from the same ASIC. That means a couple of things. One is we don’t have to develop a second beamforming ASIC, which enables a rapid transition to our Ku-Band product line. Ultimately, our mission is to be the first to deliver multi-frequency, multi-beam capability – the “Holy Grail” for any service provider that wants to arbitrage all of the available capacity from all the available satellite operators in all orbits. SMW: What about scalability? From the very beginning, we designed the terminals with modularity in mind, meaning they can be scaled in both planer and non-planar configurations without any limits at all. However, it’s not just about adding more modules. It’s about dimensioning the array to fit the customer’s specific requirements. Relying on our modular design, we can custom configure our antenna for symmetric or non-symmetric transmission. For example, we can populate an antenna platform with a much larger number of receive modules in an environment where most of the traffic is in the receive direction. SMW: Compared to other ESAs, how does the Isotropic antenna compare in terms of scan angle? If we look at the specs of typical competitor and compare their antennas to ours with in planar configuration, their antennas go to 30-degrees elevation, our optical design allows to scan out to 20-degrees elevation, and we are optimistic we could improve on that. In mobility applications requiring operation at high latitudes, aero, and maritime, our low scan angle capability puts us significantly ahead of any other phased array developer with the exception of ThinKom, which we expect to equal in terms of scanning and outperform in terms of gain. SMW: Can you give us some examples of what these advancements mean to the satellite operator? For example, let’s look at SES. mPower is going to be able to deliver a quality of service that will address very high bandwidth customers with ease. We think that the unique features we are building into our product, when added to mPower and other constellations, will allow satellite operators to tap into market opportunities that we were previously unreachable. SMW: Can you give us a better idea of the advantages of your antenna in mobility markets? When it comes to mobility for maritime, land, sea, and air, apart from our advantages compared to conventional, flat-panel ESAs, against parabolics, we offer multiple link connectivity in a single terminal, which includes fully integrated power, BUCs, LNBs and modems. SMW: Power required, and heat generated always been significant barriers to the use of ESAs in aircraft applications, especially in mid-sized and small business applications. Given the low power configuration of you design, are you planning to target aviation markets? We are fully committed to aero, but we are doing it differently. The big industry news is that we are planning to license our technology to proven integrators, and share the benefits across the ecosystem. We are aware of our competitors’ experience in pursuing the aero antenna space, and we think that when you are a pre-revenue company trying to start out with an aero product, it is a sure-fire way to put your company at risk. For example, as the time required to certification of an aero antenna is beyond your control, developing an antenna on your own can backfire unless you get everything right the first time. So what we have decided to do is to effectively “share the pie.” We are going to license our optical multi-beam modules, both transmit and receive, to selected aero and defense integrators for commercial and government aircraft. By doing so, we are going to avoid the heavy resource burden and financial risk that our competitors are facing by developing an aero terminal by themselves. SMW: Will you target the consumer market at some point? We know how to deliver a consumer broadband terminal a few hundred dollars. The challenge is how much time, and money do we invest bringing such a product to market when the networks are not available today. SMW: If you had to compete against a parabolic antenna of 60 cm, how would your antenna compare in terms of performance? If we compare our antenna with an Intellian V65, and we match their bore site performance, which I believe is 16.7 dBk, we would be roughly the same in terms of the antenna footprint. Of course, you would need a minimum of two separate parabolic antennas to work effectively in a LEO or MEO environment, while we can support multiple beams from a single unit. So, the cost and real estate savings are readily apparent. Have you tested with either Telesat or O3b or any of the other operators? Our recent Hylas 4 test was to confirm that we had met a certain TRL level and that we had mastered the mass production of the optics to a very high quality and tolerance level. The conditions of the test itself were very challenging since we were located at the edge of the satellite beam, yet we proved to our customers that we could send e-mail and high-quality video over the link. In that regard, the test was a resounding success. SMW: In January of 2019, you announced a $14 million Series A round of funding led by Boeing HorizonX Ventures, with participation from WML, Space Angels, and Space Capital. I have heard that the development of an ESA can cost as much as $100 million. How do your capital requirements compare with that estimate? $100 Million is probably the average development cost across the sector, although we are confident we will come in well below that number. However, in deep tech, the more important question is who is providing the funding. Is all the funding coming from outside the industry equity, or is a substantial amount being raising from development contracts, thereby assuring a better product to market fit? The development work we have done with Inmarsat and SES is a good example. We get an enormous amount help from these and other leading Ka-Band operators in the world, who continue to invest not just money in us but a great deal of time. Their highly qualified technical teams have worked with us all along the way. However, even with such assistance, it does take tens of millions of dollars to produce a product line of Electronically Steered Antennas that can access all segments – maritime, aero, government, enterprise, and consumer broadband. So far, we have secured over $45 million, and we plan to complete our next round within the next 6-12 months.
"Ultimately, our mission is to be the first to deliver multi-frequency, multi-beam capability – the “Holy Grail” for any service provider that wants to arbitrage all of the avaiable capacity from all satellite operators in all orbits."
"We were fully committed to aero, but we are doing it differently. We are aware of our competitors’ experience in pursuing the aero antenna space, and we think that when you are a pre-revenue company trying to start out with an aero product, it is a sure-fire way to put your company at risk."
About John Finney: A satellite and telecoms industry veteran with over $2 billion in new revenue creation directly attributed to his leadership, John Finney pioneered significant success for start-ups Huawei (founded Huawei in Europe) and O3b (founding employee and Chief Commercial Officer) along with other major leadership roles such as global business unit leader for Alcatel-Lucent. John has been identified as a Top 40 Executive by Global Telecoms Business three years in succession.
The Vende Globe: Thales & Iridium Serve an Epic Ocean Race
With Brian Aziz, Director of Satcom Solutions at Thales Defense and Security, Inc.
We've always been fascinated by the Vendee Globe, the world's most famous ocean race. It's a brutally challenging competition in which singly manned racing yachts barrel around the southern ocean to circumnavigate the globe. In this hostile and dangerous environment, boats are known to capsize tossing mariners into freezing waters. For those brave enough to race, communication is a matter of survival. At extreme latitudes beyond the reach of conventional VSAT services, only Iridium Certus will do. Leveraging the Iridium constellation, Thales has created a series of satcom solutions uniquely adaptable to the challenge, its 700 series VesseLINK and MissionLINK, and now it is introducing, smaller and more affordable versions known as the 200 series. To find out more about these products, we spoke with Brian Aziz, Director of Satcom Solutions at Thales Defense and Space. SMW: I heard that the VesseLINK Units have been deployed on IMOCA racing yachts. Can you tell us more about the race and your relationship in IMOCA? Brian Aziz: This is a great opportunity for Thales and Iridium to really show what we’re made of. The IMOCA racers are fierce competitors that expect nothing but the best. Before agreeing to utilize Thales VesseLINK as their official communication service, it had to go through a rigorous series of trials. In the end, it proved to be an exceptional L-Band solution and the service of choice. The racers did not want to use anything else. By now, VesseLINK and Certus have been deployed on almost all of the race boats. For the next several years, they will be used exclusively for both voice and data communications. With our involvement as the communication provider for the IMOCA races, we’re very excited to follow them this year, especially the Vendee Globe, which is the sport's longest and challenging race. We will be watching the race and cheering it on! SMW: Your VesseLINK and MissionLINK 700 series have been quite successful since their introduction last year. Can you give us some examples of applications in which the 700 series systems have been deployed? Brian Aziz: Yes, we are quite proud of the success we have seen with both MissionLINK and VesseLINK 700 over the last year. In addition to our work with IMOCA, VesseLINK has been used to serve all the traditional maritime markets. For example, it was deployed on a vessel operating close to the north pole. In sub-freezing temperatures, it continued to operate flawlessly. In addition to challenging maritime environments, the product, in its Mission LINK version, has also enjoyed considerable success in other markets It's been installed on military vehicles around the world, on trains in Canada, and used for scientific research and exploration in the arctic. SMW: You are now introducing a 200 series of both the VesseLINK and MissionLINK systems. How do they compare in terms of features, size, construction, weight, pricing? Do the 200 units work with the same user-friendly interface as the 700s, and will they be upgradable? Brian Aziz: Customers will get all the same features they’ve come to love in the 700 series in the new 200 series, only in a much smaller form factor. We have not yet announced all the antenna spec, but I can tell you that it’s small! In fact, I can easily hold it with one hand. It even includes our user-friendly, graphical interface and will still allow for up to three high-quality Iridium voice lines and 176kbps/176kbps in bandwidth. It also will be available at an attractive price point. SMW: Do the 200 units also offer dedicated voice channels and location tracking, embedded Wi-Fi, multiple user capability? Brian Aziz: Yes, yes, and yes! The voice quality that has truly differentiated Iridium in the L-band market will be exactly the same, and the users will get access to all three lines offered by Iridium. The terminal will still have a multi-user Wi-Fi capability, tracking, traffic management, voice-over IP, and least cost routing. SMW: On your website, it states as one of the 700’s operational enhancements for VesseLINK include: “Enhanced at-sea reporting, service logging, crew connectivity, system/cargo monitoring and other operational requirements.” Are these value-added applications, or are you just speaking, in general, about the benefits of the service? Please clarify. Brian Aziz: Those are benefits of the service, but the Thales hardware enables those use cases. We give users the ability to interface easily with our hardware. For example, we have a GPIO port (general input/output) that a vessel or vehicle can use to tie in sensors and feed the data back over the satellite to their operation center for real-time reporting. This is a feature that will save our customers time and money, and the ThalesLINK hardware simplifies the process for them and integrators. SMW: Are the new 200 series units be upgradable? Brian Aziz: Currently, the 200 series products will not be upgradable. We will be bringing them to the market at a lower price point for those users looking for an alternative to FleetOne or Iridium Pilot. These users would not really require the higher bandwidth of 700, and therefore will benefit greatly from the more accessible MissionLINK and VesseLINK 200 series. SMW: Can you give us some examples of applications where you feel the new systems will be especially popular? Brian Aziz: In maritime, the 200 series will be a good fit for tracking and GMDSS (once available), tugging and towing, fishing, and maritime-based IoT applications. On land, we still see a fit in use cases that require tracking, food and beverage transport, trains, and those that may have a push-to-talk only requirement.
About Brian Aziz: Brian is Director of Satcom Solutions and Thales Defense and Security. The majority of Brian’s career has been focused on the satcom mobility market, specializing in the commercial distribution strategy of both hardware, services, and value added applications. Over the last 12 years Brian has been fortunate enough to work in several different facets of the industry and most recently in the evolution of the L-band market with the launch of Iridium Certus and ThalesLINK family of products.
There are many mobility related satellite industry events and unless you have an unlimited budget, here are the "must attends" (in blue) and others that may be of interest. Upcoming Conferences: *****Satellite 2020: 9-12 March 2020: Washington D.C.: The Industry's most important satellite exhibition and conference - a must attend. ****Asia Pacific Maritime: 18-20 March, Singapore Biggest maritime show in Asia. ****CABSAT: 31 April -2 April: Dubai, Emerates: The major satellite show in the Middle East. Global VSAT Forum is presenting a special program at the show. For further information contact Martin Jerrold of GVF. *****SeaTrade Cruise Global, Miami: 21-23 April: The Cruise Industry is a huge user of VSAT services. making this show an important venue. It should not be missed - an important event for satellite service suppliers. ****Posidonia: 1-5 June Athens, Greece: Another important show maritime VSAT, especially for those targeting the tanker and container segment. ****CommunicAsia: June 9 - 11th, Singapore The biggest communications trade show in Asia. Not to be missed. ****Global Connected Aircraft: June 10-13 Denver: A popular conference address in commercial aircraft connectivity. *****Small Satellite Conference: Logan, Utah: August 3-8. Unquestionably the best small satellite conference available. With over 3,000 attendees, this conference is enormously popular. ****SMM: Hamburg, Germany' September 8-11 September 2020: A must attend for those interested in VSAT use in the cargo segments. ******World Satellite Business Week: Paris, France: 10:14 September. Unquestionably, the best satellite conference of the year. WSBW bring together all of the top executives in the industry in an intimate, networking atmosphere at the Westin.
Upcoming and Recommended Satellite Mobility Events
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