Airbus Defense and Space, the world’s second largest space company, and Intelsat, the world’s leading provider of satellite services, announced today at Satellite 2014 in Washington DC that they have entered into a new agreement bridging maritime VSAT services to Intelsat’s High Throughput Satellite (HTS) EpicNG platform.
The new agreement will provide global high throughput satcom services with secure access to Intelsat’s global Ku-band satellite capacity and terrestrially managed network IntelsatOneSM. As of March 2014, Airbus Defense and Space extend the usage of these new high performance solutions in its services portfolio which is upgradable to the new Intelsat EpicNG platform.
This agreement is part of Airbus Defense and Space’s newly launched AuroraGlobal, a suite of new high throughput satcom services. AuroraGlobal further enriches Airbus Defense and Space’s multi-band global network and is available to customers now, bringing them one step closer to next generation satcom.
For Airbus Defense and Space’s maritime customers, EpicNG brings the potential for new services that enable throughput in the range of 25-60 Gbps – around 10 times that of traditional satellites. Each EpicNG spot beam can support Airbus Defense and Space maritime users with 1m antennas featuring downlink speeds of up to 290Mbps and uplink speeds of up to 225Mbps.
Intelsat’s open- architecture, flexible and backward compatible EpicNG platform, which works seamlessly with the existing Ku-band wide beam fleet, enables customers to achieve higher speeds without changing onboard hardware. When the EpicNG platform becomes available, shipping companies will be able to easily upgrade to Intelsat’s HTS technology.
Under the new agreement, Airbus Defense and Space will grow its current and future requirements for maritime Ku-band VSAT services with Intelsat. This powerful combination of traditional and HTS satellite capability, fully integrated into Airbus Defense and Space’s connectivity agnostic network, will allow shipping companies to benefit from unparalleled service throughput and service flexibility, whether transiting the busiest shipping routes or exploring the most remote ocean regions.
“Our Intelsat agreement is an important part of our new AuroraGlobal offering, which provides the best value next generation satcom-enabled solutions using our global multi-band network. This will allow Airbus Defense and Space to deliver the future to its customers starting now,” said Evert Dudok, Head of Communications, Intelligence & Security at Airbus Defense and Space.
“As a leader in value-added connectivity solutions for the global commercial shipping markets, Airbus Defense and Space will be able to grow on the most reliable, highest capacity, global maritime broadband network available,” stated David McGlade, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Intelsat. “The combination of our satellite fleet and IntelsatOne network provides Airbus Defense and Space with the optimal combination of space and ground assets to capitalize on the commercial maritime sector’s burgeoning demand for broadband services. Together, we will deliver the next generation of broadband services that enable our customers to have the same levels of availability, quality of service and connectivity regardless of whether their ships are travelling in remote or heavily congested locations.”
About Airbus Defense and Space
Airbus Defense and Space is a division of Airbus Group formed by combining the business activities of Cassidian, Astrium and Airbus Military. The new division is Europe’s number one defense and space enterprise, the second largest space business worldwide and among the top ten global defense enterprises. It employs some 40,000 employees generating revenues of approximately €14 billion per year.
About Intelsat
Intelsat is the leading provider of satellite services worldwide. For 50 years, Intelsat has been delivering information and entertainment for many of the world’s leading media and network companies, multinational corporations, Internet Service Providers and governmental agencies. Intelsat’s satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video, data and voice services. From the globalization of content and the proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and broadband access, with Intelsat, advanced communications anywhere in the world are closer, by far.
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