Intelsat Rolls Out Rural Cellular Backhaul Services

Mobile Reach Service Helps Wireless Firms Extend Cellular Networks

By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 2/26/2008 8:55:00 AM

Intelsat, the largest provider of commercial satellite services, is launching Mobile Reach, which will permit wireless operators to cost-effectively extend cellular networks to rural areas, officials said Tuesday.

Intelsat’s Mobile Reach service will use the Hughes HX broadband satellite system and C-band capacity primarily on Intelsat 901 at 342 degrees E, as well as other Intelsat satellites in the Atlantic Ocean Region, in its initial phase.

Mobile Reach is designed for fast and cost-efficient service rollouts and offers wireless operators a number of benefits such as speed to market, easy implementation and an economical means to address business expansion needs.

Mobile Reach will first be introduced in Brazil with Hughes Telecommunicacoes do Brasil, Ltda., the subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, using its HughesNet service platform. Intelsat’s partnership with Hughes enables a fully managed solution from installation to service introduction, from two of the satellite industry’s leading service providers.

“Intelsat’s experience in serving more than 60 wireless operators with cellular extension services gave us the insight to the sector’s most pressing issues,” Jay Yass, Intelsat’s vice president of network services, said in a prepared statement. “We designed Mobile Reach to address those needs. With Mobile Reach, wireless operators can now reach further, deliver faster, and be more efficient in extending their cell networks.”

Also on Tuesday, Intelsat announced that it and Sea Tel Inc., the leading provider of marine stabilized antenna systems for satellite communications and satellite television at sea, and iDirect Inc., a company of VT Systems, a leading provider of satellite-based IP communications technology, will be enhancing Intelsat’s Network Broadband Global Maritime service. The move is meant to enable a broader sector to take advantage of communication services at sea.

The Intelsat offering, built on iDirect’s Intelligent Platform, now operates on Sea Tel’s 9707 C-band antenna, extending global broadband service to Sea Tel customers across the commercial shipping, military, oil and gas, cruise and yacht industries.

The integrated solution combines Sea Tel’s widely used 2.4 meter global maritime antenna with iDirect’s automatic beam switching technology and global-network management features.

As a marine vessel crosses Intelsat’s satellite footprints, the iDirect technology automatically re-establishes the remote and antenna onto a new beam or network, thereby providing seamless global connectivity. The challenges of maritime operations demand always-on connectivity, and Intelsat’s Network Broadband Global Maritime service provides a cost-effective solution for linking operations at sea to land-based corporate networks, resulting in improved crew welfare and business operations.