World of Satellite-News Updates

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ST Electronics Secures S$151 Million Worth of Contracts in First Quarter
April 4, 2013
Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) has announced that its electronics branch, Singapore Technologies Electronics (ST Electronics) has secured approximately 151 million Singapore dollars worth of contracts for rail electronics, satellite communications (satcom) and smart utility projects in the first quarter of 2013 (1Q2013).

The company’s satcom and sensor business secured contracts worth about 78 million Singapore dollars in the first quarter for the supply of products and network infrastructure including Agilis Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) and earth station equipment, iDirect satellite hubs and routers for e-Government, cellular backhaul and maritime VSAT solutions.
ST Electronics has benefited from the successful launches of new High-Throughput Satellites (HTS), which have given rise to improved speeds at lower service costs, accelerating satcom adoption on a broader scale by many industries.

In the rail electronics and intelligent transportation market, the company won approximately 65 million Singapore dollars for mass rapid transit (MRT) projects in Malaysia, Taiwan and North America.And, in the area of smart utilities solutions, ST Electronics won contracts worth about 8 million Singapore dollars to implement and support a Customer Information System and an Advanced Metering Infrastructure solution.

 

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Surrey Satellite US Moves into New Satellite Mission Facility Headquarters
April 4, 2013
Surrey Satellite Technology US (SST-US) has moved into a new purpose-built company headquarters and satellite manufacturing facility in Englewood, Colo. The new SST-US headquarters provides clean room space for satellite and subsystem manufacture, customer payload integration, and electronics assembly activities.
The facility also includes an electronics laboratory, mission operations center, and office space. Once in orbit, satellites built and launched by SST-US will be commissioned and operated from the company’s mission operations center.

SST-US received an incentives package from the State of Colorado and Douglas County to locate the new headquarters in Englewood, according to John Paffett, SST-US CEO.

 

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Advantech Wireless Releases New Millennium Series VSAT Hub for HTS
April 4, 2013
Advantech Wireless has announced the release of its most powerful Next Generation Satellite Communications product, the New Millennium Series VSAT Hub for HTS.

Building upon Advantech Wireless’ Discovery Series of DVB-RCS Hubs, a single rack of the Millennium Series can be configured to support upwards of 20,000 remote terminals and 775 Mbps of traffic to the remotes, spread across up to 5 different transponder/satellites and 480 TDMA carriers. This single rack can also receive up to 240 Mbps of IP traffic generated by the remote terminal population.

“A powerful feature of the Millennium Hub is its redundancy capability. On the Forward Link, the standard design incorporates a 1:5 scheme, whereby one Forward Link chain operates in a Hot Standby mode, ready to automatically takeover in the event of a malfunction of any of the 5 active Forward Link systems” John Landovskis, PLM director at Advantech Wireless, said on a statement. “Similarly, for the Return Link, the standard design provides for a 1:n redundancy scheme”.

The New Millennium Hub is designed to operate with all fixed satellite frequency bands (C, X, Ku, Ka-Band) and will support all of Advantech Wireless family of Satellite Interactive Terminals (SITs).

 

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Fred Godard Appointed as International Datacasting Corporation President and CEO
April 4, 2013
International Datacasting Corporation has announced the departure of Ron Clifton as president and CEO and the appointment of Fred Godard to take over Clifton’s place.

“IDC’s long term growth opportunity is developing products and technology for the professional video market. The track record of success that Fred brings to this industry will be of great benefit to IDC,” Denis Colbourne, chairman of the board of directors said on a statement.

 

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AsiaSat’s Strategic Partnership Hints at New Direction
April 4, 2013
AsiaSat has signed a significant deal with GeoMetWatch, which will see the satellite operator host the first of six Sounding & Tracking Observatory for Regional Meteorology (STORMTM) instruments on board a new satellite planned to be launched by AsiaSat in 2016. The deal allows AsiaSat to go in a new direction, and shows the operator’s willingness to look for more creative deals.

AsiaSat, which grew its revenues by 10 percent last year, and profits by 11 percent, is looking at ways in which it can diversify its revenue base. Hosted payload type deals are definitely on the agenda for the operator. In an interview with Via Satellite last month, AsiaSat CEO William Wade admitted he saw hosted payload type deals as a possibility for the operator, and strongly hinted that potential partnerships were in the pipeline for the operator. He said, “I think there are opportunities for hosted payloads in Asia and we are exploring them. In Asia, hosted payloads so far have mainly been for military applications. So, hosted payloads have gone on domestic satellites that are controlled by a domestic or government operator. We are un-attached to any sovereign government so I would not anticipate that is something AsiaSat would participate in. There are however other hosted payload opportunities that we are considering and we should see more and more hosting opportunities. But, the military and defence related hosted payloads are being reserved for the domestic operators where the governments have tighter control.”

Ironically, Wade also hinted that a hosting deal regarding in the weather or navigation arena was also a possibility. When asked what area a hosted payload type deal could be done, he added, “Anything from imaging, to weather, and navigational payloads, Ka or L-band payloads with specific applications and projects associated with them. There have been discussions along those lines with various entities across Asia. Specific applications that could justify a dedicated payload hosted on one of our satellites is definitely a possibility.”
GeoMetWatch’s partnership with AsiaSat is a significant step towards the implementation of its global geostationary hyperspectral sounder constellation, according to David Crain, CEO of GeoMetWatch. The first STORM sensor will provide atmospheric and weather data over Asia and the Pacific region.

AsiaSat has a busy year ahead and is getting to set to launch its AsiaSat 6 and AsiaSat 8 satellites in the first half of next year, bring a lot of new capacity online. AsiaSat 6, which is being built by Space Systems Loral (SSL) will serve Asia, the Middle East, and Australasia, and will have 28 high-power C-band transponders. AsiaSat 8, which is also being built by SSL, will have 24 Ku-band transponders and a Ka-band beam. The high-power transponders will enable the use of small antennas on the ground. The company could also look to form strategic partnerships with other operators going forward. Wade adds, “We continue to look for opportunities to expand our business through acquisition or partnerships. In the past year, we were successful in securing a partnership in Thailand which provided access to the 120 degrees East orbital location to develop new markets. We hope to be able to conclude more of these co-operation agreements, and offer new opportunities for expansion into different areas. We have a significant cash balance on our books and will look to utilize this to explore possibilities for consolidation.”

 

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Tata Sky CTO: “We Need Constant Compression Upgrades”
April 5, 2013
The compression market is heating up ahead of NAB with the main technology vendors making a flurry of announcements as they look to meet the needs of broadcasters and DTH players. This has become a huge issue as most broadcasters are moving to HD, and the topic of ultra-HD – while in its infancy – will place greater demand on compression vendors.

In Asia, DTH players are demanding new technologies to meet their needs, as they look to grow their subscriber bases. In India, the situation is unique, as DTH operators have issues in getting extra satellite capacity; therefore the pressure to maximize the bandwidth available has become more acute. Better compression technologies are a must. Tata Sky has 10.5 million subscribers in India and is growing subscribers at a rapid rate. Yigit Riza, CTO, Tata Sky admits the operator will need to do a “compression upgrade” on a regular basis.

“Expansion satellite capacity has been delayed but the pressure to carry more channels continues. We are in constant touch with compression vendors regarding their development roadmap and regularly testing new encoder hardware and software. We expect to do at least one compression upgrade every year,” he said.

Riza admits the demise of MPEG2 has not happened, the way perhaps some in the industry predicted. “Three or four years ago people thought all the compression vendors were going to focus on MPEG4, and not put much effort into MPEG2. But, that has been far from the case. There are a number of major operators worldwide still on MPEG2 as they are not prepared to swap their STBs to MPEG4. There is therefore still a significant market for MPEG2 compression and the vendors are consequently making investments in improving performance. The vendors provide regular updates on what the percentage bandwidth improvements will be, and what changes they have planned,” he said.

In Indonesia, a country with a population of over 240 million, and where multiple DTH players exist, this has also been an issue. Handhi Kentjoni, vice president, MNC Sky Vision, a DTH provider, admits the operator moved to MPEG4 too soon. “We reached about 800,000 subscribers before we switched over to MPEG4. Right now, with MPEG4, we have the capacity for 160-200 channels, while the channel right now is less than 120. For the foreseeable future, we are OK. We are not looking for more satellite capacity in the next year, unless we want to use for competitive reasons,” he said.

In South Korea, the situation is somewhat different, given there are not huge amounts of competing DTH platforms. SkyLife, a Korean pay-TV player, is already making plans to go to Ultra-High Definition TV. The company is working with Ericsson on different test transmissions aimed at the introduction of next-generation TV experiences, including an Ultra-HD trial and High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) tests to determine how the new standard can be deployed in multiple applications.

Ericsson itself is launching a new compression platform for the delivery of TV services over all networks. The AVP 4000, powered by Ericsson’s first-ever in-house developed programmable video processing chip, is a single platform addressing multiple applications, regardless of codec, resolution or network.

Thomson Video Networks, another player in this space, is introducing a range of new products to enable DTH operators and broadcasters to be more efficient. The company has announced that its ViBE VS7000 multi-screen video encoding/transcoding system now provides support for the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) compression standard for live and offline applications. It is also launching higher-density versions of its ViBE EM4000 multi-channel encoder and ViBE CP6000 modular contribution platform. Both systems now feature a density of eight HD channels per rack unit and enhancements for increasing operational flexibility and decreasing the cost per channel. “Second generation AVC compression allowed a real deployment of HD. Today, operators are requesting more channels and want to convert SD MPEG-2 channels to HD-AVC,” Jean-Louis Diascorn, product manager for Encoders at Thomson Video Networks said. “Our ViBE EM4000 is the third generation encoder which now exists to achieve this target. MPEG-2 is very close to the theoretical limit. However further enhancements are needed for broadcasters to have more space for HD channels, while keeping initial set-top boxes.”

 

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Kratos' RT Logic Launches Software-Only Products for Satellite Control Centers
April 5, 2013
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ subsidiary RT Logic has launched two new products for building cost-effective satellite control centers: the Software Front End Processor (FEP) and the Software Gateway. Both are based on a "software only" architecture that replaces the hardware/software appliances used in the industry today.

RT Logic's Software FEP and Software Gateway products help reduce the physical space needed, power and cooling requirements, and costs and complexity associated with building satellite control centers. In a satellite ground network control center, RT Logic's Software FEP connects the Command & Control system to an encryption/decryption (COMSEC) device, and the Software Gateway connects the COMSEC to a wide area network (WAN). The FEP and the Gateway work together to transmit commands to, and receive telemetry from, a remote ground station communicating with a satellite.

Both products support virtual machine environments, and they eliminate custom drivers, firmware and hardware cards, thus achieving platform independence. Both products are scalable and support blade-server architectures, enabling them to match the expanding requirements of satellite constellations as they grow over time.

"RT Logic's new software-only solutions address the major needs of customers today, including ease-of-use and integration, reduced upfront and lifecycle costs, flexible configurations, and program-friendly licensing models," Matt Prechtel, business area manager at RT Logic, said on a statement.

 

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Ericsson Develops New Video Processing Chip, Launches Compression Platform
April 5, 2013
Ericsson has launched a new high-performance compression platform for the delivery of TV services over all networks. The AVP 4000, powered by Ericsson’s first-ever in-house developed programmable video processing chip, is a single platform that addresses multiple applications, regardless of codec, resolution or network.

By addressing all applications, codecs, resolutions and profiles, the AVP 4000 single platform promises to ease integration, expansion, re-purposing, training, repair and upgrades, lowering the overall cost of ownership, all based on Ericsson’s new video processing chip.

"This programmable chip gives us the performance and the control necessary to develop and implement the algorithms required to achieve the highest bandwidth efficiency across all delivery networks," Giles Wilson, head of TV Compression Business, Ericsson, said on a statement.

Canadian telecommunications company TELUS is already trialing the new AVP 4000 for a future TV platform with high-quality picture and services.

 

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Azerspace-1/Africasat-1a Enters Full Commercial Service
April 5, 2013
Azercosmos and MEASAT have announced that the Azerspace-1/Africasat-1a satellite has successfully completed in-orbit testing and entered full commercial service. The spacecraft, launched on Feb. 7 on board Arianespace’s Ariane 5 vehicle, will provide communications services to customers in Azerbaijan, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. The satellite provides Ku-band capacity over Europe and Central Asia, and C- band capacity over Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

The Azerspace-1/Africasat-1a is based on Orbital’s GEOStar-2 platform with an expected service life of more than 15 years. It generates approximately 5 kilowatts of payload power, carries 36 active transponders, and it operates from the 46 degrees east longitude orbital location through an arrangement between Azercosmos and MEASAT, which holds the rights to the orbital slot.

 

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RRsat Appoints New President for US, VP and CFO
April 5, 2013
RRsat Global Communications Network, a provider of content management and global distribution services to the television and radio broadcasting industries, has announced several changes to the company's operational leadership team.

Ohad Har-Lev has been appointed president of the company’s U.S. subsidiary, RRsat America Global Communications Network. Har-Lev most recently served as RRsat’s MSS managing director as well as corporate general counsel and company secretary.

The company also announced the appointment of Tzurit Golan as VP, Human Resources & Organizational Development. Golan previously held executive HR positions in companies such as AudioCodes and Orbit Technologies.

Finally, RRsat also appointed Shmulik Koren as CFO starting May 1, 2013. Prior to this appointment, Koren served as CFO and COO of Orbit Technologies.