GSA Schedule gets new satellite communications products, services from Spacenet

Gilat Satellite Networks subsidiary company Spacenet Inc. is beefing up its U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule 70 contract (Contract No. GS-35F-172AA) with a wide selection of new satellite communications services, solutions, and products.

Spacenet is adding managed broadband network solutions, Emergency Communications Services (ECS,) a pair of high-performance satellite modems, and other new offerings to its GSA schedule. The result improves the affordability and availability of the already excellent previous schedule.

A leading managed network services provider, Spacenet offers a variety of solutions involving broadband wired and wireless communications, data security services, installation and maintenance services, proactive network monitoring and management, PCI compliance services, and others. The Company's ECS series improves the flexibility of public safety agencies when it comes to the acquisition and deployment of critical emergency satellite communications solutions.

Pactel, Rural Tech Development sets up wireless solution for PNG LNG camp

Rural Tech Development and Pactel International joined forces to engineer a wireless solution for PNG LNG that ensures uniform coverage across the 1.2 square kilometers of PNG's accommodation camp.

The two companies designed their joint solution to improve the quality of life of the 9,000 PNG LNG workers who call the camp home away from home. Rural Tech and Pactel deployed secure VoIP Payphones for voice calls and granted WiFi access to the Internet through an Internet cafe and the workers's personal devices.

Pactel deployed a 10 Mb satellite link that employed a cost-efficient, carrier-grade Newtec platform and multiple bandwidth reserves. It also applied application filtering, bandwidth acceleration, QoS, and other value-adding services to ensure efficiency was maximized and operations proceeded seamlessly.

Rural Tech served as the manager for the design, installation, and layout of the updated wireless system at the PNG LNG camp site. It created a centralized management and billing system that allowed workers to access services by purchasing a pre-paid internet and VoIP card.

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Thuraya satphone users avail roaming service courtesy AT&T network

Thuraya Telecommunications consumers in the United States will now be able to enjoy outbound GMS roaming and data services on their satellite phones thanks to Thuraya's U.S. roaming partner AT&T.

The two companies launched the new roaming service on March 15, 2013. The AT&T network enables seamless roaming capabilities for the Thuraya XT-Dual satellite phone handsets, allowing Thuraya customers to make and receive calls and texts messages (SMS) throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The next step for the service will be delivering similar roaming capabilities to AT&T customers in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe via the Thuraya satellite network.

The only satellite operator that offers roaming services over mobile networks, Thuraya Telecommunications has more than 350 roaming partners, including world-leading carrier company AT&T.

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Nupoint Systems expands Globalstar M2M data communication satcom services

Globalstar Canada Satellite has entered an airtime, distribution, and manufacturing agreement with Nupoint Systems for the next three years. The mobile satellite voice and data services provider is seeking to expand the range of its M2M data communication service offerings past the limits of terrestrial infrastructure.

Nupoint products and services will be integrated into Globalstar's satellite data services. This will enable two-way communications for purposes of collecting M2M data. It will also allow Globalstar to keep an eye on its customers' assets

Globalstar is currently deploying a second-generation constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. These new satellites will provide customers wil affordable and reliable mobile satellite services anywhere in the world for the next fifteen years.

According to President and CEO Wayne Carlson of Nupoint Systems, companies can stay connected with assets scattered across the world by using a cost-effective and reliable satellite communications solution. He cites his own company as an example, and explains that Nupoint will tap Globalstar's new LEO satellites to enable reliable two-way connectivity with data equipment in the most remote locations over several years. 

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Orbcomm collaborates with Sumitomo for Global OEM Telematics Solution

Global satellite data communications company Orbcomm has been chosen by Japanese firm Sumitomo Construction Machinery to provide wireless data connectivity for the company’s global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) telematics solution.

Sumitomo will use the global satellite communications network of New Jersey-based Orbcomm to help keep track and monitor the location, status and performance of the company’s equipment anywhere around the globe. With the help of Sumitomo’s advanced asset monitoring solution, it will help them gain visibility over its fleet of machinery, enhance operational efficiency, maximize cost savings and deliver improved service to its customers. Global deployment of the OEM installation will commence in mid-2013.

In a company statement, Orbcomm CEO Marc Eisenberg expressed his satisfaction with the new partnership. He said, “We are excited to work with Sumitomo, an industry leader in technological innovation, to help bring their telematics solution to the global marketplace. Sumitomo’s agreement with ORBCOMM once again confirms the value and power of our global M2M network and validates our position as the leader in heavy equipment telematics. Together, we will meet the growing demand of faster, more cost-effective connectivity and integrated solutions that enable smart machines.”

“This partnership combines ORBCOMM’s ubiquitous coverage and expertise in satellite M2M communications with our high-performance technology to create a dynamic telematics solution,” said Mitsunori Kawamura, Sumitomo’s Corporate Officer of the Customer Support Division. “We look forward to leveraging this opportunity with ORBCOMM to increase our market share in heavy equipment telematics and pass along the benefits of our superior asset management solution to our customers.”

Nordic Tanker migrates to Inmarsat’s XpressLink after sea trials

Chemical tanker operator Nordic Tankers will be migrating its fleet of vessels to Inmarsat’s XpressLink service after conducting comprehensive set trials. The company opted to move from its existing service to XpressLink because it produced great results, such as reliability offered by the fully-integrated L- and Ku-band solution. The sea trials of Inmarsat’s service to garner a comprehensive evaluation of available satcom solutions took place on the 5,800dwt chemical tanker Nordic Nelly.

All in all, Nordic Tankers have a chemical tanker fleet of almost 130 vessels. The Inmarsat-managed service auto-switches between VSAT and FleetBroadband to provide broadband speeds of up to 768kbps -- a reliable and high-quality service with global coverage, all at at a fixed monthly, competitive price. The XpressLink service offers an easy upgrade to Global Xpress when Inmarsat’s high-speed Ka-band network becomes commercially available next year.

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CPI wins big order for Ka-band satcom amplifiers

An international company has ordered $6 million worth of Ka-band high-power satellite communications amplifiers from Communications & Power Industries (CPI.) According to CPI's announcement, the amplifiers will be integrated into gateway Earth stations, enabling its customer to offer high-throughput satellite (HTS) services.

Andy Tafler, president of the Satcom Division of CPI, stated that the Company's high-power satellite communications amplifiers will help supplement the unnamed international end customer's existing fiber network by providing rural consumers with high-capacity satellite Internet service.

According to CPI, the Satcom Division will ship the completed 500-watt Ka-band traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs) well into the middle of 2014.

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American GPS might be challenged with BeiDou’s global expansion

The Republic of China is close to going on a head to head competition with United States’ Global Positioning System (GPS), as the country announced that BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is likely to reach its full-scale global coverage in 2020. China is expecting BDS to offer navigation, positioning and timing services that is not only reliable, but also highly accurate.

In a statement, China’s lunar probe mission chief commander Ye Pejian said that since 2000, China has already successfully launched 16 of the constellation of 35 satellites for BeiDou, as well as four other experimental ones. BDS has also provided licensed services for its government and military users in fishing, forestry, hydrological monitoring and mapping, telecommunications, transport and weather forecasts.

BDS plans to take control of at least 70 to 80 percent of the GPS-dominated domestic market come 2020, this according to BeiDou spokesman Ran Chengqi, who is also the director of the China Satellite Navigation Office.

“We hope that the industries based on BDS will hold 15 to 20 per cent of the market share by 2015,” said BDS spokesman Chengqi.

As a way of contending with foreign rivals, BDS has integrated another communication function -- it can communicate with the ground station by sending and receiving short messages, 120 characters in each.

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