18 August 2002
Satcoms
Asia Business TV Delivery Service to North America Through Hawaii
Pacific Teleport
HNS
Completes Installation of Satellite Network for Brazilian Bank
Military
Space
ADC International
Awarded Contract For Military and Federal Agencies
Integral Systems to Provide
Verification & Validation for Air Force Satellite Flight
Software
Science
Contact Lost
with Contour Probe
Products and Services
EMS Technologies and Vocality International Introduce VORTEX
Multi-Channel Inmarsat Terminal
Intelsat Broadband Service Rolled Out in Colombia
Tandberg Television
and Irdeto Access Launch Earlybird DTH System
People
Gene Colabatistto to Succeed Kass Green as President of Solutions
at Space Imaging
Asia Business TV Delivery Service to North America Through
Hawaii Pacific Teleport
(19 August 2002) CHUM/ NovaVision/ TechnoSatellite has
established an Asia/Pacific Satellite Gateway at Hawaii Pacific Teleport for
its North American satellite business television network.
The gateway will allow Asian based corporations to deliver
corporate video material to their distributors in North America by satellite at
very competitive rates.
The Hawaii Pacific Teleport gateway is over
2,000 miles off the US west coast meaning the satellites it can access can
reach 2,000 plus miles further in to Asia to countries such as India, Pakistan
as well as all of South East Asia and China. This Asia wide coverage brings 2/3
of the world’s population within a single satellite hop of the USA.
Novavision distributes its business television to business customers in
Canada and TechnoSatellite to USA clients on Nimiq 1satellite using a Ku band
transponder. Business subscribers in the USA and Canada are able to receive the
signal on an 18 inch diameter antenna.
The Hawaii Teleport can receive
business TV transmissions from across the Asia/Pacific region on JCSAT 3
(128° E), Agila 2 (146° E), Measat 2 (148° E), JCSAT 2A (154°
E) for broadcast by Nimiq 1 (269° E) satellite to subscribers in North
America.
HNS Completes Installation of Satellite Network for Brazilian
Bank
(13 August
2002) Hughes Network Systems Inc (HNS) has completed installation of a
comprehensive satellite network for Caixa Economica Federal (CAIXA), the second
largest government-owned bank in Brazil.
The turn-key
network provided by HNS consists of a hub earth station and 2,500 remote
terminals throughout the country, expanding CAIXA's physical presence across
Brazil and allowing social programs of the Brazilian government to be offered
at these locations. One of the key programs to be offered over the network is
called "Bolsa Escola." Because lower income parents in the country frequently
take their children out of school at an early age to earn money to increase the
family income, the Brazilian government has instituted a program that provides
a financial incentive to these parents to keep their children in school.
CAIXA is the second largest government bank in Brazil with more than 2,000
branches and 65,000 employees. It manages more than 15 million banking accounts
and is the major instrument of the Brazilian government to implement social
programs.
CAIXA pays social benefits such as unemployment insurance
and social security to more than 40 million people. In addition, CAIXA is
responsible for more than 50% of all home financing in Brazil, 90% of these for
low-income people, and has financed the acquisition of more than 5 million
houses since its inception. CAIXA has also provided education loans to more
than 1.3 million students in Brazil.
CAIXA also manages the lottery
network in Brazil with more than 8,000 points of presence.
ADC International Awarded Contract For Military and Federal
Agencies
(14 August
2002) ADC International LLC has been awarded a contract by the Defense
Information System Agency (DISA) for Inmarsat airtime transition services for
the Department of Defense and other federal agencies, with a potential
estimated value by the government of US$ 400 Million over ten years. Terms
include a three-year base period and seven one-year options.
In June 2002, ADCI was selected as one of five awardees, to
provide equipment, airtime service and maintenance for DISA's Inmarsat Network.
The 10-year firm-fixed price, indefinite- delivery/indefinite-quantity contract
is valued at a total of US$ 1 Billion and requires a full range of Inmarsat
equipment and services including access to voice, data, messaging and paging
capabilities, globally 24x7. Fair opportunity consideration will be provided
for the award of new Inmarsat equipment and airtime service
requirements.
Integral
Systems to Provide
Verification & Validation for Air Force Satellite Flight Software
(15 August 2002) The US
Air Force has awarded Integral Systems Inc a contract to perform Independent
Verification & Validation of Flight Software used to fly the Defense
Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft.
This work
requires Integral Systems Inc to certify whether software provided by the
spacecraft manufacturer is capable of properly operating the spacecraft while
in orbit. The contract has a basic period of performance that runs through the
end of the calendar year with options for up to nine additional years.
This is the fourth consecutive contract Integral has been awarded to support
the DMSP program since 1987.
Contact Lost with Contour Probe
(15 August 2002) NASA's mission operators are
looking for a signal from Contour, several hours after a scheduled manoeuvre to
send the spacecraft from Earth's orbit onto a path to encounter multiple
comets.
Contour's Star 30 solid-propellant rocket motor
was programmed to ignite at 4:49 a.m. EDT and deliver 1,920 m/s boost which
Contour needed to escape Earth's orbit. At about 225 km above the Indian Ocean,
the spacecraft was too low for NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas to
track it at the scheduled time of the burn.
The Contour mission
operations team at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
expected to regain contact at approximately 5:35 a.m. EDT to confirm the burn,
but by 9 a.m. EDT the DSN had not acquired a signal.
The mission
operations team is working through several backup plans to establish contact
with the spacecraft, searching along the predicted trajectories for a
successful burn.
EMS Technologies and Vocality International Introduce VORTEX
Multi-Channel Inmarsat Terminal
(12 August 2002) EMS Technologies Inc and Vocality
International have introduced the Vortex multi-channel, mobile satellite
terminal. The Vortex terminal is a unique development between two satellite
market leaders - EMS, which recently acquired Inmarsat terminal manufacturer
Ottercom, and satellite multiplexer manufacturer, Vocality International.
The companies have integrated a multiplexing capability with
EMS's STORM Inmarsat GAN (Global Area Network) terminal to create the Vortex
terminal. While Inmarsat Mini-M and Inmarsat GAN can offer data and voice,
those services are mainly used for single-channel operation only. The Vortex
terminal is the first Inmarsat GAN terminal specifically designed to be multi-
channel. The unit presents four or eight voice ports into which users can
connect either traditional POTS telephones, or for government users, up to 8
STU (secure telephone unit) phones.
When the first call is made, the
Vortex terminal automatically connects to a compatible multiplexer situated in
a fixed location via the Inmarsat network of satellites. Once connected, a dial
tone is presented to the field operative. This can be used as an extension of a
PABX at base or a direct connection to the PSTN. If this was a standard
Inmarsat terminal - that would be all - but with Vortex terminals, up to seven
more phone calls can then be made - all sharing one antenna and one GAN
connection.
EMS and Vocality created the Vortex terminal in response
to market demand for an integrated solution that could be carried by one person
and deployed nearly anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes. Applications
for the Vortex terminal include military and emergency response agencies that
require a mobile command centre able to operate anywhere in the world
independently of terrestrial communications infrastructure.
The Vortex
terminal dynamically shares the bandwidth allowing more than one input device
to be online at once. For instance, in a mobile office application users could
simultaneously use computers to send and receive data, make voice calls from
phones, and send faxes, all using one Vortex terminal, and sharing a single 64
kb/s Inmarsat connection.
The Vortex terminal combines the high-speed
capability of EMS Satcom's Storm terminal and the secure and flexible
capabilities of Vocality International's V100 Versatile Multiplexer to provide
an integrated solution of unparalleled capability.
Intelsat Broadband Service Rolled Out in Colombia
(12 August 2002)
Intelsat has launched a new high-speed broadband service in Colombia, South
America. The offering provides fast, high-quality Internet access for e-mail,
web browsing and e-commerce applications for small- and medium-sized businesses
in underserved regions of the South American country.
The launch of Intelsat's Broadband Service comes immediately following a
successful three-month trial in Colombia involving approximately 150 end
customers, including oil services companies, agribusinesses, municipal
governments, Internet cafés, political pollsters, insurance companies
and a wide range of others.
Intelsat's Broadband Service is comparable
to DSL service, providing high-speed Internet connections that are up to 10
times faster than the fastest dial-up connections. It enables service providers
to offer their business customers direct access to the Internet. ConexSat, a
subsidiary of Informatica, is the first service provider to offer the new
Intelsat Broadband Service from a hub in Colombia.
Although currently
available only in South America, Intelsat plans to expand its broadband service
gradually to other regions, with Mexico, Eastern Europe and parts of Asia as
the next targets.
The new broadband service is initially being offered
over a Gilat SkyStar 360E platform, the same platform over which the successful
trial was conducted. After an extensive evaluation of competitive platforms,
Intelsat selected the Gilat SkyStar 360E due to its combination of performance,
quality, reliability and economics. Intelsat is continuing to evaluate other
broadband service platforms to potentially accommodate customers in other
regions with specific needs. With additional equipment and software, the
Intelsat Broadband Service also supports multicasting, streaming, distance
education learning, voice over IP and corporate training.
Tandberg Television and Irdeto Access Launch Earlybird DTH
System
(12 August
2002) At IBC 2002, Tandberg Television and Irdeto Access will launch Earlybird,
an end-to-end system designed to minimise the start-up costs and time to market
for new satellite operators by providing a complete solution from content
encoding through to the set top box.
Tandberg Television
and Irdeto Access have joined forces to design Earlybird because both companies
realised that for new operators the economics of direct to home satellite
broadcasting is presently undergoing a major paradigm shift. This shift is
taking place because new DTH operators need to find ways to launch successful
services with subscriber break-even levels that have reduced over the last few
years from over 1 million to presently around 100,000 subscribers. The main
drivers of the shift are increasing audience fragmentation and the growing
importance of niche broadcasting and local language platforms. In the future,
Tandberg Television and Irdeto Access expect that for many DTH broadcasters it
may even be necessary to find ways to be profitable with consumer take up as
low as 20,000 households. It is for these new DTH operators that the two
companies have extended their long association by collaborating on the design
and launch of the Earlybird system. Earlybird is aimed at DTH operators with
up-to 100,000 subscribers. However, it has been developed so that it can be
seamlessly upgraded as the operator's offering flourishes.
There are
three major components included in the Earlybird package: Compression,
modulation and multiplexing; Conditional access, scrambling and smart cards;
Digital receiver or Set Top Box
Compression, modulation and
multiplexing
Encoding: Tandberg Television's 4th generation MPEG-2
encoding solution, the E5710 provides great flexibility with the highest
performance compression and flawless picture quality. Its compact 1U size and
low-bit rate performance make it an ideal component in multi-channel solutions
for Broadband, Satellite, Terrestrial or Distribution applications.
Multiplexing: The new evolution 5000 series multiplexer combines unrivalled
experience and innovative design. The MX5600 series breaks new ground in
multiplexer technology and delivers real benefits in terms of flexibility,
interoperability and performance.
The Tandberg MX5600 MPEG video,
audio and data multiplexer benefits from an open systems concept. It supports
industry standard interfaces, scrambling and communications protocols. The
highly flexible modular architecture enables custom configurations and fully
scaleable, class-leading solutions for Satellite broadcasters based on
evolution 5000 products.
Modulation: The SM5600 is an ultra compact,
second-generation satellite modulator from Tandberg Television. It builds on
extensive experience in DVB-S modulation, and its advanced features ensure
ease-of-use, high levels of integration and maximum flexibility. The SM5600
utilises state-of-the-art technology to provide a flexible, cost-effective
platform for enhanced satellite modulator functionality and Tandberg
Television's new Prekortm ensures maximum data throughput whilst maintaining
link budgets.
Network Management System
Forming an integral
part of an evolution 5000 solution, the network management system is an
advanced software control product that configures, co-ordinates and monitors
all the hardware in a multiplex. Running on a Windows NT platform, it is
flexible, reliable and easy to use. The control computer for the evolution 5000
hardware automates the broadcast operation by managing equipment, performing
protection switching to constantly ensure high availability.
Conditional Access and Scrambling:
Irdeto M-Crypt DVB is a compact
conditional access system designed specifically for small to medium-sized
operators, but as professional as any large-scale CA system.
As the
operation expands, the Irdeto M-Crypt range of optional service modules allows
the operator to grow the business, adding functionality and capacity at an
appropriate pace.
Irdeto M-Crypt DVB supports up to 100,000
subscribers at which stage it can be upgraded to Irdeto psys; the next
generation large conditional access system handling a wealth of digital
services for millions of subscribers.
Set Top Boxes
Earlybird
supports a range of set top boxes, including models from Zinwell and Xcom.
Upgradeability and support
As the broadcaster's business grows,
subscriber numbers in the millions can be handled by an up-grade to the Irdeto
psys system and the operator can implement a Subscriber Management System (SMS)
from any SMS vendor, through the Irdeto M-Crypt DVB SMS interface
specification. Earlybird is also backed with decades of digital broadcasting
experience from both Irdeto Access and Tandberg Television and customers are
able to benefit from this track-record through systems design, installation,
training and maintenance and support services.
Gene Colabatistto to Succeed Kass Green as President of
Solutions at Space Imaging
(14 August 2002) Space Imaging has
announced the appointment of Gene Colabatistto to president of Solutions.
Colabatistto, currently president of SPOT Image Corporation of Chantilly,
Virginia., will succeed Kass Green, current president of Solutions, on
September 3.
Green will continue to serve in an executive role
during a lengthy transition period and thereafter will assist Space Imaging
with strategic planning.
Prior to SPOT Image, Colabatistto served as
vice president of Information Systems at Veridian/Pacific-Sierra Research
Corporation and was also a division director and a program manager at
Pacific-Sierra Research. Colabatistto also served in the Marine Corps. He holds
a bachelor of science degree in Aerospace Engineering, a master of science
degree in Systems Management and a master of science in Electrical
Engineering.
