Jabiru-1, which would be the first locally owned communications satellite of Australia, will be launched by Arianespace. Satellite communications carrier NewSat signed the updated launch agreement with Arianespace on March 14. At the Satellite 2012 Forum, the CEO of Arianespace, Jean-Yves Le Gall, commended the independent satellite service firm for its advanced telecommunication networks and state-of-the-art satellite communications service while expressing his enthusiasm for the partnership.

The Jabiru-1 launch contract finalized the old launch reservation agreement signed on Dec 8 last year. Arianespace and NewSat expects the Jabiru-1 Ka band satellite to be ready for deployment in the 4th quarter of 2014. The satellite be sent off from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana , just at the top of South America.

The multi-beam Ka-band communications satellite is being manufactured by Lockheed Martin. It can carry 50 Ka-band transponders, providing satellite broadband coverage to various continents. Jabiru promises to provide telecommunications providers and ISPs high-frequency capacity to meet the growing demand from the government, private and household sectors. Once operational, Jabiru-1 will provide satellite communications service across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 

Etisalat of UAE and a fixed satellite communications operator entered into a multi-year partnership agreement. The deal will enable Etisalat to expand the coverage of its broadband and GSM services via Intelsat’s satellite capacity.

The satellite communications capacity will be available this month. Etisalat eyes bigger coverage across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Central Asian markets with this new satellite capability, said Ali Amiri, vice president of carrier and wholesale services. Intelsat’s regional vice president of sales for Europe and the Middle East, Jean Philippe Gillet, announced that Intelsat 22 will be the first of the five satellites the company will launch this year. It will serve high-demand regions in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The satellite will operate on two Ku-band mobility beams, delivering seamless satellite connectivity across the Indian Ocean region. The service coverage will include major maritime and aeronautical routes. Intelsat 22 will also provide Ku-band capacity to Middle East and Eastern African regions. In addition, the C-band service will offer two-way satellite communications across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and eastern Asia.

Is Satellite Communications Payload for NBN?

The agricultural industry is increasingly relying on the Internet. However, farmers and rural residents in general often struggle to get fast broadband connection in their communities. 

This is one of the reasons behind the National Broadband Network project of the Australian government, which is expected to finish in 2015. In WA, residents are beginning to clamor for fast broadband service that is often made available to city residents only. The NBN is expected to empower rural residents and businesses by giving them access to reliable satellite communications service for both personal and business uses. 

The Internet is an integral part of the life of many Australian farmers, said NBN Broadband applications engineer Sean Casey. 

“We’re already seeing good examples of farmers increasing their use of the internet and we need to meet this demand,” said Casey. 

Farmers are increasingly relying on the Internet to communicate with customers and increase productivity. The Internet also serves as a source of valuable real-time information that helps farmers with their everyday tasks. They use the Net to get weather news, and compare prices. Casey believes that a good broadband connectivity will help farmers make critical business decisions faster. 

The NBN is aiming to provide fixed wireless and satellite communications speeds of up to 12 megabits a second. This is faster than an average DSL service, which usually operates at 48 kilobits a second . 

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Xplornet Communications  will use WiMAX for its fixed network which consists of 700 cell towers, supporting connection speed of  40 Mbps-100 Mbps. There will be two next generation 4G satellites to complete the entire broadband network.

The rural broadband provider will use advanced traffic management solutions for its new satellite communications and wired networks. The new traffic monitoring technology will reduce connection speed for peer-ro-peer file sharing, online data storage and other online activities that are not deemed time-sensitive, especially during peak hours. 

The New Brunswick-based  company said that the combined capacity of its satellite communications and fixed networks will entail an advanced traffic monitoring solutions to determine the speed to be allocated to each user.  The company will be implementing intelligent broadband network solutions from Sandvine: Network Analytics product and Real-Time Entertainment Dashboard.

Xplornet notes that placing a speed limit is necessary since a small number of customers use disproportionate share of bandwidth. There will be hourly, daily and monthly caps to ensure that majority of its customers enjoy high speed.

Other Satellite Communications News Briefs: LuxSpace VesselSat2 AIS Communications Satellite Completed

The amount of bandwidth that can be processed by a satellite broadband provider can be measured in terms of megabits per second (or one million bits of data per second). There are approximately 300 communications satellites stationed in the geosynchronous orbits, lying directly above the equator 2-3 degrees apart. Geostationary satellites circle Earth at the same speed without changing its fixed location relative to Earth’s equator.

In evaluating satellite broadband, the following factors should be considered seriously: transponder bandwidth (MHz),  uplink G/T (dBK), downlink EIRP power (dBW), and sensitivity (dBW/^m2), which is bought by satellite Internet operators.

 
The conversion of bandwidth (MHz) to information data rate varies depending on the following factors:
modulation method (e.g 8-QAM , 16-QAM, BPSK, QPSK )
the type of FEC (e.g. Low Density Parity Check, Turbo Code, Viterbi, Reed Soloman or combination of these)
Forward error correction code
Dish size
 
A geostationary satellite can cover as much as one-third of the globe. The coverage areas of a communication satellite stationed at the orbit just above India’s equator include  Europe, Australia, South Africa and Japan. Spot beams are directed at certain regions to support small dish operations.
 

Satellite broadband signals can be sent and received by a small dish 60cm to 3.7m in diameter, provided that there are transmit module and receiver module. For residential users, there is an indoor device provided to process and prepare signals for transmission in TDMA bursts.

Satellite Internet providers usually charge customers per bit rate usage. Under a satellite broadband plan with 512k download /64k upload speed and  20:1 user-host ration, the monthly fee can be as much as $202. Such broadband plan is good for two computer terminals per site. Like traditional ISPs, VSAT operators implement fair usage policy. Customers who fail to limit their bandwidth consumption can be penalized either through reduced speed or higher limit in bandwidth consumption.

Upload and download satellite broadband speeds are normally sufficient to perform common computer tasks like web browsing, computer games and video download.

Satellite broadband is the ideal backup wireless solution for businesses. It may not be the fastest, but satellite Internet is often the only option for travellers stuck in countrysides with no telecommunication facilities.

Various industries like airlines, shipping, airlines and banks can enjoy continuous wireless connectivity through satellite broadband. Although latency and other technical issues remain a problem, satellite broadband services are continuously improving, thus reducing cost and signal delays.