Page 64 - SAMENA Trends - February 2022

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Intelsat and Microsoft to Demo Private LTE and 5G Network Using Global Satellite

and Ground Network

device. Connectivity to the internet and Azure services is enabled
by Intelsat’s FlexEnterprise. Via the private cellular network, users
can access local enterprise resources via SIM-authenticated
connections to the Azure Stack Edge and access remote resources
through the FlexEnterprise connection, the IntelsatOne global
network and Azure. Additionally, the LTE network powers a Wi-Fi
access point and IoT applications. “As enterprises look to private
cellular networks to improve the reach, security, and quality-
of-service over Wi-Fi-only local networks, the ability to support
deployments at any site is crucial to creating a fully connected
organization,” says Jean-Philippe Gillet, SVP global sales media
& networks, Intelsat. “The applications demonstrated here with
Microsoft highlight the increased automation and standardization
of enterprise data processing services that globally-available
private cellular networks will enable. Support for high-bandwidth,
low-latency networks is central to Intelsat’s vision of an end-
to-end ecosystem for a global software-defined 5G network.”
“At Microsoft, we are committed to enabling an ecosystem of
satellite operators through collaborations such as this one with
Intelsat. As the world continues to move to 5G, Microsoft’s Azure
Orbital platform, together with our Azure hyper-scale computing
platform, allows operators to deploy and maintain faster, easier,
Intelsat, operator of an integrated satellite and terrestrial network, and more cost-effective solutions anytime and anywhere,” says
reports the successful demonstration of a private cellular network Tom Keane, corporate vice president, Mission Engineering. Mobile
said to be one of the first of its kind. The operator is collaborating Experts Inc. expects the global private LTE and 5G equipment and
with Microsoft Azure Private Multi-Access Edge Compute and services market to grow at around 20% CAGR to about $10 billion
FlexEnterprise using Intelsat’s satellite-based global connectivity (€8.91 billion) in 2025. Intelsat is one of the trusted integrated
service. Held at Intelsat’s office in McLean, Virginia, the space and ground satellite networks with a 50-year record of
demonstration establishes a reference architecture for deploying delivering seamless and secure coverage across 200+ countries.
secure, high-performance private LTE and 5G networks and other Intelsat is building a unified global 5G network that will support
cloud services over satellite networks to enterprise locations virtually any access technology, enabling the next generation of
virtually anywhere globally, including those in remote and austere global mobility, Internet of Things (IoT), and 5G services. Merging
environments. The demonstration creates a private LTE service software-defined technology and multiple networks and orbits,
using Azure Private 5G Core deployed on an Azure Stack Edge we bring the world a single, more powerful way to connect easily.

EC Makes €6B Move in Space Race

The European Commission (EC) outlined a €6 billion investment over geographical areas of strategic interest”, including Africa and
plan to develop a new satellite system to provide connectivity the Arctic, reducing global reliance on Chinese-built infrastructure.
to the continent and Africa, and support critical infrastructure Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, said space
and applications around economy, security and defence. The EC was playing a growing role in daily lives, in addition to “economic
stated it would fund the move through a €2.4 billion contribution growth, our security and our geopolitical weight”. He added the
from the European Union (EU) from 2022 until 2027, with the rest pan-European project would allow for many start-ups and the
coming from its budget, member states and private investments. continent as a whole “to be at the forefront of technological
When built, the system will add to the EU’s other major satellite innovation”. The EC’s initiative will join and compete with
plays, including global navigation system Galileo and Copernicus, commercial satellite systems including Amazon’s Project Kuiper
which is used for earth observation. The program will launch in and SpaceX’s Starlink. There was also proposal by the EC for
2023. The EC explained it wanted to use space-based connectivity regulation of space traffic, seeking to improve management in
as a “strategic asset” for the continent’s resilience, enabling light of what the regulator described as an exponential increase
technological sovereignty, competitiveness and access to fast in the number of satellites in orbit. It aims to use this to protect its
connectivity for people and businesses. As part of the initiative, assets and ensure a safe, secure and sustainable use of space by
system signals will be encrypted and also provide “connectivity establishing international partnerships.
64 FEBRUARY 2022