nmarsat selects Willis as its space risk management advisor

Following a detailed review and competitive tender amongst leading space insurance brokers, mobile satellite operator Inmarsat has awarded Willis Group Holdings an exclusive appointment to act as its risk management advisor and placing broker for its new generation of satellites.

The agreement covers the launch and in-orbit operation of Inmarsat’s highly anticipated broadband satellite network, Global Xpress, and the additional launch of the Alphasat satellite. The appointment also includes responsibility for Inmarsat’s current in-orbit fleet.

Using high-power Boeing 702 type satellites, Global Xpress will deliver mobile broadband to the world at speeds of up to 50Mbps on devices as small as 60 centimetres.

Inmarsat’s Alphasat will be the first launch of The European Space Agency’s newly-developed Alphabus, the world’s largest communications satellite platform.

Willis will be charged with creating and implementing a risk mitigation strategy for Inmarsat’s suite of technology that can be effectively valued by the insurance community. The role requires a multi-disciplined approach, bringing together expertise in engineering, risk management, and technical analysis.

The appointment follows the selection of Willis as insurance broker to Inmarsat for all non space policies at the beginning of 2010.

Roger Bathurst, CEO of Willis Inspace, who led the bid team, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen to represent Inmarsat. This is the result of a tremendous all round performance and is the clearest possible illustration of the strength and depth of the Willis team. To be at the forefront of one of the most dynamic and exciting satellite projects in the world is a great honour.”

Wavestream selected by General Dynamics for SATCOM amplifiers

Wavestream has been selected by General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies to supply the company’s 16W Ka-band Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPAs) for their Model 20 Satcom-On-The-Move (SOTM) terminal. Wavestream is shipping 16W Ka-band amplifiers for use in vehicle-mounted satellite communications systems to support U.S. Department of Defense missions worldwide.

“Wavestream is proud of its long, successful relationship with General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies, supplying Ka-band amplifiers to support a variety of deployed SATCOM terminals worldwide,” stated Terry Magee, executive vice president at Wavestream. “This latest selection is testament to our continued ability to deliver extremely reliable, field-proven products on-time, and in the quantities required to support SATCOM Technologies’ critical program requirements.”

Wavestream’s Ka-band products, which also include 12W, 25W and 50W amplifiers, have demonstrated exceptional reliability and performance in severe operational conditions, and are currently deployed supporting war fighters in the most extreme environments. Wavestream’s 16W Ka-band amplifier is designed for the demanding shock and vibration environment of wheeled and tracked vehicles. The amplifier is a compact, proven product that is mounted within a radome close to the antenna feed to reduce waveguide loss. As with all Wavestream products, it is fully tested over the entire operating temperature range and frequency band to ensure in-spec performance under all operating conditions.

“The ability to provide continuous connectivity everywhere, all the time, in any environment is essential to the war fighter,” continued Magee. “SATCOM Technologies is a key provider of robust, mobile satellite communications systems that provide the critical “always connected” capabilities for in-theater and strategic operations worldwide. We are proud to offer proven technology to help them meet the growing demand for more portable comms-on-the-move SATCOM systems to support critical missions wherever they may be.”

RRSat offers customers data increase using NovelSat 3G

RRsat and NovelSat have announced that live testing of its NS3 modulation solution resulted in a 26% data rate increase over DVB-S2. NS3™ achieved a rate of 8.25 Mbps compared to DVB-S2’srate of only 6.54 Mbps, over a 3 MB carrier. This remarkable achievement should have an impact on the industry, especially for small data terminals as well as for Satellite Newsgathering (SNG) services. For certain applications, such capacity boost can be translated into usage of a much smaller antenna, namely around 35% smaller antenna diameter, for similar data rates.

“RRsat is proud to be an early adopter, as exemplified by our use of this advanced technology, and is excited about the potential benefits NS3™may have for our customers,” said Ziv Mor, CTO of RRsat. “In addition to the potential data rate and bandwidth advantages, RRsat may now be able to provide higher levels of reliable and robust service while allowing its customers to use smaller antennas.”

“It has been very helpful working with RRsat, a company with a well-earned reputation for assisting and encouraging companies with innovate products and services. RRsat’s guidance and live testing of NS3™ with its impressive roster of first tier customers provided us with the kind of real-time situation needed prior to market launch,” said Itzik Wulkan, NovelSat CEO. “For commercial companies to governmental organizations, we have, with RRsat’s assistance, been able to see firsthand how the NS3™ implementation can improve service value. We are thrilled with the opportunity to extend the impact of these tests further through our new partnership with RRsat.”

EMC announces breakthrough in HD video conferencing over satellite

Emerging Markets Communications has announced the general availability of its affordable new high quality HD Connect On Demand satellite technology, which offers significant breakthroughs for the telepresence, videoconferencing and visual collaboration industry.

The first high definition (HD) videoconferencing over satellite service available in an affordable, on demand, ‘pay as you go’ manner, HD Connect is available now for deployment to Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia – and soon to China as well as Central and South America. HD Connect allows governments, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in hard to reach areas of the world to use HD videoconferencing, telepresence and visual collaboration anywhere, anytime (on land, sea or in the air), at a fraction of the price of a typical dedicated satellite data circuit. HD Connect also delivers unprecedented quality, with low jitter, low packet loss and predictable and steady latency for excellent, unparalleled videoconferencing experiences.

Driving HD Connect is the industry’s first single carrier per channel (SCPC) – a non-shared, on/off model specifically designed for videoconferencing. With several patents pending around the methodology and the technology, EMC is the only company offering the service today.

HD Connect, which works with any videoconferencing system, utilizes EMC’s high quality MPLS satellite network, which has been providing data services to governments and NGOs in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia for over eight years.

EMC’s new HD Connect service offers:

•Secure, mission-critical, end-to-end high quality video communications deployable anywhere on the planet
•Affordability: A revolutionary ‘pay as you go’ service where users only pay for the bandwidth that is used, packaged with bundled hours of monthly usage (like a pre-paid cell phone)
•High quality: Low jitter, low packet loss with predictable and steady latency for excellent videoconferencing experiences
•Ease of use: Delivered via a browser in bandwidth multiples of 1mb & 5mb, the user simply goes to a portal, turns on the system and operates the videoconferencing system of his choice for as long as he likes
•Speed of service: Circuit turn-on takes less than 30 seconds
•A single vendor: Providing customers the ability to interact with just one vendor to reach over 140 countries eliminates the need to depend on the local infrastructure for power and communications outside the region. Since EMC owns the entire network, EMC is a single solution provider for all satellite-served areas.
“Until now, HD videoconferencing in the most remote regions of the world has been costly, unreliable and of poor quality,” said Thomas Luketich, VP of Videoconferencing and Application Services for EMC. “Our easy to use HD Connect service enables organizations around the globe to conduct affordable, on demand, lifelike face-to-face communications and collaboration with colleagues, partners, suppliers and customers in regions that have traditionally been hard-to-reach.”

“Historically, the use of satellite connections to host videoconferencing sessions has involved significant cost, performance and availability compromises,” said Ira M. Weinstein, Senior Analyst and Partner at Wainhouse Research. “With its ad-hoc availability, consistent quality of service and usage-based pricing model, EMC’s HD Connect has changed the rules of satellite-based videoconferencing.”

In related, news, EMC also announced that it will be interconnecting with Masergy, a global provider of secure, virtualized network services. Masergy’s IP/MPLS network, the most mature global IP/MPLS network in the industry, was purpose-built to support real-time applications like Telepresence and HD videoconferencing.

“EMC’s new HD Connect service will provide clients with locations in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia with a compelling alternative solution for video applications in these fast-growing regions,” said Chris Carr, Director of Video Markets for Masergy. “We are excited to be partnering with EMC as these regions are extremely important for our customers and partners.”

Turner delivers global news and entertainment with SES

SES has announced that Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), a Time Warner company, has signed capacity renewal agreements for nearly seven transponders on four satellites to enable the distribution of news and entertainment programs throughout North America and Europe. TBS relies on more than ten transponders on SES satellites for global coverage.

As part of the multi-year, multi-satellite deal, TBS, Inc. is using five transponders of Ku-band capacity aboard SES’ AMC-3 satellite. Four transponders are used for CNN satellite news gathering (SNG) across the U.S. and Canada and one is used for distribution of CNN Newsource to more than 800 domestic affiliates. The SNG coverage will seamlessly migrate to the new SES-2 satellite once the spacecraft initiates service in the 87° West orbital slot next month. An additional 8 MHz of capacity is being used to provide voice communications between remote SNG news trucks and CNN in Atlanta.

Turner is delivering breaking news from North America via CNN Newsource to European affiliates using 9 MHz of Ku-band capacity on SES’ NSS-7 satellite at 338° East. The service is scheduled to transition to the new SES-4 spacecraft once operational next year. Direct-to-Home (DTH) viewers across the UK and Germany are receiving a variety of programming from Turner Broadcasting System, including CNN International, TNT, Boomerang and Cartoon Network, over Ku-band capacity on two of SES’ ASTRA satellites located at 19.2° East and 28.2° East.

“SES has the satellites, personnel and expertise that Turner Broadcasting System needs in order to reach audiences around the world,” said John Ball, Vice President of International Distribution Technology for Turner Broadcasting System. “Our long-term distribution partnership with SES is an important component of our global content delivery strategy.”

“Turner Broadcasting is a true innovator in television news and entertainment,” said Scott Sprague, Senior Vice President of Global Sales for SES. “SES is launching new capacity at a record pace into key orbital locations around the globe, enabling Turner and other leading networks and programmers to create and deliver new, cutting-edge content over new regions and platforms for years to come.”