Telesat to provide LEO satellite services in Africa and the Philippines
Telesat, a Canadian LEO satellite operator, and Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a South African business of Cassava Technologies, a leading pan-African technology group, have announced a strategic cooperation agreement to explore reciprocal go-to-market strategies in order to bring Telesat’s Lightspeed LEO satellite services to Africa.
The agreement will lead to a collaborative approach to developing hybrid connectivity, the integration of satellite and terrestrial networks. As part of the agreement, the companies will closely collaborate on the commercial and technical aspects of integrating Telesat’s Lightspeed satellite network with Liquid’s global value-added services network. Simultaneously, Telesat will also explore combining Liquid’s landing stations, Points of Presence (PoPs), site hosting, management services, and fiber network, as part of its global terrestrial infrastructure, in order to seamlessly integrate with the Telesat Lightspeed satellite network. Find out more here.
The company has recently also conducted an LEO satellite test in the Philippines. PDLT, a Philippine telecommunications, internet, and digital service holdings company, successfully conducted the Philippines’ first on-orbit testing of high-speed broadband connectivity with Telesat’s Phase 1 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite. During the live test, the service reportedly reached download and upload speeds of 100.46 Mbps and 95.62 Mbps, with roundtrip latency of 26.53 milliseconds.
Telesat is one of the existing LEO satellite operators that has a comparatively lower number of satellites launched, as opposed to SpaceX’s Starlink and OneWeb, but has higher mass class satellites with a strong government backing. Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation integrates arguably more advanced satellite technologies compared to its competitors.
The company’s LEO satellites are capable of processing data in space (that results in higher capacity and flexibility), consisting of phased array antennas and optical inter-satellite links, and can provide capacities through hybrid orbits (inclined and polar orbits). Find out more here.
Intelsat successfully demonstrates private cellular network with Microsoft Azure
Intelsat and Microsoft Azure have successfully demonstrated a first-of-its-kind private cellular network. The project aimed to establish a reference architecture for deploying secure, high-performance private LTE and 5G networks, as well as other cloud services, over satellite networks for global virtual enterprises.
The demonstration was carried out using Microsoft’s Azure private multi-access edge compute (MEC) system and Intelsat’s FlexEnterprise, a satellite-based global connectivity service.
Private cellular networks are utilized for establishing wireless local-area networks (LAN), which are usually more affordable than alternative Wifi and LAN options. With this demonstration, users can now access local enterprise resources via SIM-authenticated connections to the Azure Stack Edge, as well as access remote resources through the FlexEnterprise connection, the IntelsatOne global network, and Azure. The network is also being developed to power wifi access points and connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Find out more here.
Satellite communication applications are now evolving beyond broadcasting and internet services. The integration of cloud services brings more agility to hybrid infrastructures and helps consumers take advantage of the connectivity services at affordable prices. While companies such as Microsoft Azure are setting new trends for the upstream satellite market, operators like Intelsat are looking at how to further enhance the array of options available for satellite operators. Find out more here.
Gilat and TIM Brasil to build largest 4G satellite cellular backhaul network in Latin America
TIM Brasil, a Brazilian subsidiary of Italian telecommunications company Gruppo TIM, has expanded its connectivity to 1,000 sites in Brazil by leveraging Gilat Satellite Networks’ SkyEdge II-c platform, making it one of the largest 4G satellite cellular backhaul networks in Latin America.
Gilat’s SkyEdge II-c platform enables the extension of TIM’s 4G cellular network and agricultural IoT connectivity. This is designed to provide a unique solution for timely deployment, commissioning, and activation of satellite backhaul services.
TIM’s collaboration with Gilat is a part of the TIM Brasil Sky Coverage program. This program aims to bring connectivity sustainably, through off-grid sites, to more distant areas of Brazil, especially where electricity grid infrastructure is not very advanced. Find out more here.
Intelsat is also one of the operators that recently collaborated with TIM Brasil under the sky coverage program. The company is also expanding its footprint in Africa, with recent agreements with Orange Mali and Vodacom DRC, but for decades Latin America has been one of the most crucial regions for its satellite business.
Brazil is one of the most popular Latin American countries for such services, consuming a huge amount of satellite broadcasting capacity. The country is also one of the most prominent nations to utilize digital terrestrial television (DTT) capabilities, a hybrid integration for television services.
With these ongoing developments, across multiple satellite market verticals, Brazil will continue to adopt and mature satellite capabilities across several industrial sectors. Find out more here.
Thuraya rolls out push-to-talk communications solution developed with Cobham SATCOM
Thuraya has announced the launch of its new IP-based radio communications solution, Thuraya Push-to-Talk (PTT), developed in close collaboration with Cobham SATCOM.
Thuraya’s PTT solution will enable users across a spectrum of industries to extend the range of their voice communications beyond the line of sight (BLOS) wherever their assets and teams are located. It works in conjunction with any Thuraya broadband terminal to establish a private network and gives users the ability to combine and integrate different technologies such as 3G/LTE/Land Mobile Radio (LMR) via Thuraya’s satellite system for seamless voice and data communications.
The solution is designed to provide secure interoperability among multiple users with different communication systems on land and at sea. It also manages communications from multiple devices and locations and provides real-time, uninterrupted switching between satellite, cellular, and LAN, ensuring cost-efficient and reliable connectivity. Find out more here.
Considering Thuraya’s expertise in multiple sectors, including rapid response and emergency management, PTT will also support organizations in remote areas that often struggle with a lack of reliable connectivity - particularly when there is an urgent need to communicate across different areas, countries or continents.
Simultaneously, it will enable organizations to overcome this challenge, enhancing overall workforce productivity and safety in operations management.
Member news
A few stories from our valued members:
Alén Space chosen as winner of the Indra Challenges at the SSSIF 2022 congress
Alén Space presented its proposal ‘Alén Space Toolkit for Small Satellite Constellations Design’ at the Indra Challenges, which was a part of the Small Satellite International Forum (SSSIF 2022).
Indra Challenges, sponsored by Indra, a technology and defense systems company, are primarily initiated to highlight the latest innovations and technologies in the NewSpace sector. It also aims to help these ideas and proposals convert into real-time solutions.
The recognition of the challenge includes a grant to finance the initial phase of the idea presented at the SSSIF 2022. Find out more here.
Epsilon3 demo footage now live
We recently held a live demo with Laura Crabtree of Epsilon3 on the company’s procedure tracking platform for space missions. Footage of the event is now available on YouTube, which you can find here on our blog.
The Epsilon3 platform is designed to reduce errors and streamline both operations and communications, as well as enable simple access to the most important metrics during development.
In the demo, Laura shared details of specific use-cases and functions that show how the platform can help mission designers around the world. Take a look at the link above!
EOSOL Group joins the satsearch membership program
We are very pleased to announce that Spanish engineering services firm EOSOL Group has joined the satsearch membership program. EOSOL was founded in Spain in 2008 and today operates 15 offices, running projects in more than 40 countries around the world.
The EOSOL aerospace division offers a range of products and services for space businesses including the design, manufacture, assembly, and verification of communications components and sub-systems, such as K-, Ka-, and X-band antennas and feeds. EOSOL undertakes projects across the entire lifecycle and has worked on a number of contracts with many of the main satellite integrators in Europe, as well as the European Space Agency (ESA).
Find out more about EOSOL Group here on their satsearch supplier hub.
Sfera Technologies joins the satsearch membership program
We are very pleased to announce that Bulgarian space company Sfera Technologies has joined the satsearch membership program. Sfera Technologies develops new and innovative ways to improve access to space data, through the use of cutting-edge software technologies.
The company is currently building HomePort, a global, user-centric ground station network that streamlines the process of receiving, ingesting, processing, and delivering satellite data. Sfera has also developed a decentralized, multichain, space data architecture called Ephemeris. It is designed to support and integrate various space industry processes and augment stakeholder participation in the space economy.
Find out more about Sfera Technologies here on their satsearch supplier hub.
Changelog
An overview of recent updates to the global marketplace for space on satsearch.com:
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