Page 65 - SAMENA Trends - October 2019

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ThinKom Successfully Demos Ka-Band Antenna Connectivity on SES O3b

Satellites

ThinKom Solutions, Inc. has completed a series of successful and units are in operational service on U.S. government aircraft.
in-flight connectivity tests of its Ka-band antenna on SES’ SES’ high-throughput O3b MEO constellation has positively
O3b MEO and GEO satellites. The tests provided the first live impacted millions of people with low-latency, high-performance
demonstration of airborne communication with the O3b MEO data connectivity services and has enabled SES Networks, SES’
satellites and included seamless handovers between MEO and business unit focused on data solutions, to offer more capacity,
GEO satellites during flight. The in-flight demos used the Thales enhanced coverage, increased efficiencies and greater flexibility
FlytLIVE connectivity network and incorporated the Hughes to its customers. ThinKom CTO Bill Milroy said this is the first in-
JUPITER™ ModMan integrated to the ThinKom Ka2517 antenna. flight demonstration of an aeronautical antenna communicating
The flights took place September 17-18 over South Florida and across a MEO-GEO hybrid satellite network. The Ka2517 with the
the Caribbean Sea using a commercially available ThinKom JUPITER ModMan met or exceeded all test parameters for spectral
Ka2517 phased-array airborne antenna mounted on a Gulfstream efficiency, data throughput, beam agility, switching speeds,
G-III test aircraft. With the Hughes JUPITER Aeronautical system ASI mitigation, low-angle performance and inter-constellation
and ModMan, the antenna demonstrated the ability to achieve roaming. The demonstration further establishes that ThinKom
high data throughput rates while seamlessly switching among has the only proven ‘no compromise antenna solutions that can
successive O3b MEO satellites, as well as transfers between O3b support seamless global satellite communication in the air with
and SES’ GEO constellations. The Ka2517 achieved downlink automatic roaming among GEO, LEO and MEO constellations.
error-free data throughput rates in excess of 265Mbps, with beam Reza Rasoulian, VP, Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES),
switching speeds of less than one second, while automatically added that the test by ThinKom underscores the effectiveness of
resolving adjacent satellite interference (ASI) issues. Based the Hughes JUPITER System for both MEO and GEO connectivity,
on ThinKom’s patented phased-array VICTS technology, the and, when combined with a high-quality antenna such as the
Ka2517 is an airborne antenna designed to communicate through ThinKom Ka2517, to deliver superior spectral efficiency, link
satellites in low, medium and geostationary orbits. The low-profile availability and performance. Elias Zaccack, EVP, Global Sales, at
antenna radome provides near-zero aeronautical drag in flight and SES Networks, noted that these successful demo tests are raising
supports global coverage including polar and equatorial latitudes. the bar for in-flight connectivity and the connected passenger
The field-proven Ka2517 is currently in commercial production, experience. The seamless integration of our MEO and GEO
satellite networks will provide SES customers with unprecedented
redundancy, higher connectivity speeds and a whole new level of
operational models. The company is excited to have achieved this
milestone together with long-term partner Thales, as this is yet
another example of how mutual collaboration continues to bring
innovative connectivity solutions with unmatched performance.
Pascal Homsy EVP, Telecommunications Business Line, Thales
Alenia Space, commented that these in-flight tests performed
together with SES, ThinKom and Hughes are an outstanding
demonstration of the seamless connectivity through MEO and
GEO satellite systems. Thales Alenia Space was particularly
pleased to participate in this worldwide first, using the O3b
satellite constellation the company manufactured for SES.

SES Secures Contract with Major Indonesian Media Company

SES has entered into a contract agreement packaged together with exclusive content 17,000 islands in Indonesia, as well as
with Indonesian media group Surya Citra from SCM Group. These new channels locations in South Asia, Northeast Asia,
Media (SCM), and its satellite direct- include Citra Cinema, Citra Drama Plus, Australia and the Middle East. The 108.2
to-home TV provider Nex Parabola to Citra Muslim and Citra Dangdut, providing degrees East neighborhood is targeted
provide exclusive HD coverage of the UEFA a variety of lifestyle, entertainment for video services and ensures extensive
Champions League and UEFA Europa and religious content for Nex Parabola coverage over all corners of the country for
League soccer tournaments this season. customers. SES-9 is co-located at 108.2 SES-9. This, coupled with SES-9’s high-
This will be done via SES’s SES 9 satellite. degrees East orbital position with SES- powered wide beam design, makes the
The two European football channels will be 7 and provides prime coverage over all satellite ideal for local broadcast services.

65 OCTOBER 2019