Satellite News

SES ASTRA, an SES company has announced that it has entered into a distribution agreement with the leading Polish data network operator NASK to offer its satellite-based broadband service ASTRA2Connect to business customers in the Polish market. The service is available as of now.

As a comprehensive IT communications provider for the business market, NASK offers broadband internet access, corporate networks, data transmission, hosting, videoconferences as well as network security services.

With ASTRA2Connect, the company will expand its portfolio of services to provide existing and new business customers with satellite based broadband connectivity at low cost. Customers will benefit from a range of different service packages with speeds of up to 4Mbit/s, also in remote regions where terrestrial broadband networks are limited or non-existent.

With more than 60,000 end users, ASTRA2Connect is the most successful satellite broadband service in Europe. Offering always-on and interactive broadband internet access for flat service fees, ASTRA2Connect is immediately available anywhere within the footprint of the satellite.

The customer premises equipment – a modem and satellite dish – is delivered with a tool for easy self-installation. ASTRA2Connect is marketed via wholesalers and internet service providers to the residential, industrial and maritime markets. Most recently, the service was expanded to Africa and the Middle East.

“We are very pleased to have entered into this agreement, which will enable us to extend the scope of our wireless services beyond the major Polish cities to the entire country. SES ASTRA is an expert in the field of satellite communication. Due to the obvious advantages of the offered solution and the positive results of our quality tests, we are convinced that we have chosen the right partner,” said Michal Chrzanowski, Director of NASK.

While ADSL and even wireless has brought access to broadband within the reach of many South Africans, there are still areas of the country with little or no access to the internet.

But there is now light on the horizon, or should I rather say “broadband” on the horizon.

In February 2010, SES Astra launched its ASTRA2Connect internet services in central and west Africa, providing broadband as well as VoIP services to large under-serviced areas. The service will soon be expanded to the rest of Africa, including South Africa.

In October 2008 Ses Astra ordered a new satellite from one of the world’s largest designers and manufacturers of satellites. The satellite is destined to be placed on a 5º orbit later this year. Designated ASTA 4B, the satellite will have 24 direct-to-home transponders for both broadcast and broadband connectivity.

The Astra2Connect service is a bi-directional satellite broadband that enables always-on high speed internet access regardless of its user’s geographical location.

Speaking at SATCOM Africa 2010 Norbert Willems, MD ASTRA Broadband Services said that ASTRA2Connect uses a satellite link to carry internet protocol data in both directions between the central hub and remote terminals. “At the hub, routers connect to the internet backbone and internet protocol (IP) data is embedded in a DVB-S2 format carrier to be uplinked to the satellite from SES ASTRA’s teleport. From there it is down-linked to the remote terminal where the signal is received with a domestic-type dish for the satellite internet modem, which extracts the IP data for the end user’s PC.

Once in orbit ASTRA 4B will provide speeds of up to 4096 kbps downlink and 256 kbps uplink. Signals are fully encrypted on both the forward and return path. Other techniques such as selective content compression and pre-fetching will provide for faster page loading. The technology offers triple play providing internet, VoIP telephony and TV and radio from the satellite and the same home dish.

Various internet service providers have shown interest in offering the new service while some regulatory issues are being addressed ahead of the service being available to South Africans. Will it be expensive? According to Willems, “affordable”.

The idea of using that position in space to provide communication over a very large area is by no means new. It was first mooted in 1928 by Herman Poto?nik, a Slovenian rocket engineer and pioneer of cosmonautics. However Arthur C Clarke gave real meaning to the idea in his article “Extra-terrestrial relays – can rocket stations give worldwide radio coverage?” published in Wireless World in 1945. Here Clarke was the first to describe it as a useful orbit for communications satellites for broadcast and relay purposes.

In some quarters a geostationary orbit is referred to as the Clarke Orbit. Similarly, the Clarke Belt is the part of space approximately 36 000 km above sea level, in the plane of the equator. Placing Astra 4B at 5º East means that its antenna beams give good coverage over Africa and most of Europe.

SES ASTRA, which is an SES company, recently announced the successful deployment of its new ASTRA 3B satellite at its orbital position 23.5 degrees East. The satellite is now ready for commercial operations. The satellite was built by EADS Astrium. Recently, it has been successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana. Now, the satellite has successfully cleared all essential in-orbit tests of hardware and broadcasting functionalities on board.

ASTRA 3B is the provider of Direct-to-Home broadcast services to the Benelux countries and Eastern Europe. Also, it provides services to public and private satellite communication networks across Europe and the Middle East. SES has already contracted a noteworthy proportion of the capacity on ASTRA 3B.

SES ASTRA is a well known DTH satellite provider in Europe. The satellite fleet presently comprises of 16 satellites. Over 125 million DTH and cable households get benefit from the ASTRA satellite system. The company provides transmission of over 2,500 analogue and digital television and radio channels.

In addition to that, it also offers satellite-based multimedia, internet and telecommunication services to enterprises, governments and their agencies. It has more than 120 High Definition channels on its main orbital positions. Well known broadcasters of Europe make the most of the significant HDTV platform from ASTRA. The prime orbital positions for ASTRA are 19.2° East, 28.2° East, 23.5° East, 5° East and 31.5° East

ASTRA is headquartered in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, from where the company carries out centralized functions that include spacecraft and payload operations, 24×7 technical support and corporate activities.

SES ASTRA claims to be one of the world’s top satellite groups with a network of satellite operators placed across all continents. The company operates chiefly via SES ASTRA in Europe as well as SES WORLD SKIES in North and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Apart from that, it has strategic participations in QuetzSat in Mexico, Ciel in Canada, O3b Networks based in Jersey, Channel Islands, and YahLive in the Middle East.