Eutelsat’s satellite broadband helps to bridge the communications gap
In association with Eutelsat
What is Eutelsatbroadband ?
If you thought satellite technology was just about watching Premiership football or the latest Hollywood Blockbusters you’d be wrong. Increasingly satellites are being used for voice and data communications especially in remote locations or for applications that require greater levels of control.
One example is the automotive industry where the broadband division of European satellite company Eutelsat, Eutelsat Broadband, is helping to bridge the communications gap – either as a backup or an extension to the existing infrastructure. Satellite technology can help with the delivery of car parts to production lines or communication between the dealer workshops and distribution centers.
For satellite communications, Eutelsat uses its new KA-SAT satellite. The high throughput satellite is configured with 82 spot beams and connected to a network of ten ground stations, making it the most advanced multi-spot satellite in the world. As a powerful new platform for delivering high bandwidth services, KA-SAT provides cost-effective and competitive solutions to users across Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, delivering speeds of up to 22 Mbps downstream and 6 Mbps upstream.
Nor is it just the automotive industry where satellite communications from Eutelsat are used extensively. When Scottish landowner Laird Frank Spencer-Nairn wanted to build a 700kW hydroelectric power facility driven by water from the river on his remote Culligran estate, he turned to Eutelsat satellite broadband for essential communications.
“It’s absolutely vital that we had internet and telephone communications,” explains Frank Spencer-Nairn. “During the construction phrase we needed to have communications to enable the contractors to communicate with consultants and engineers so they could send drawings backwards and forwards.”
He continues: “Once the turbine house was complete the satellite dish was moved and is now providing satellite communications and a telephone link for the operations phase.” For the installation, Spencer-Nairn turned to specialist company Internet Anywhere. Says John Fitzgerald, Managing Director of Internet Anywhere: “Satellite is the only option for a place like this. More importantly for health and safety we have a lot of workers here using machinery and they need to be in touch should anything go wrong.”
Thames Water case study
For Thames Water, satellite broadband technology also plays an important part in emergency response with the water company’s Event Response vehicle having recently been fitted with the latest satellite communications technology. Says Clive Dickens, Senior Technical Engineer, Thames Water: “During emergencies the vehicle becomes the focal point for our customers and a control center for our staff on the ground.” Using the emergency vehicle solutions Water can quickly assess and respond to any incident.
The vehicle, which is fitted with an electronic sign to relay messages, has its own built in generator and a secure satellite link for communications with Thames Water’s HQ. The van’s also equipped with its own Wi-Fi hotspot as well as a bank of TV monitors for watching coverage as an event unfolds (you can see the full YouTube video below showing how the installation was carried out).
While satellite solutions remains a popular mean to deliver entertainment at home, increasingly the technology is also being used for broadband voice and data communications – particularly for emergency use or as a supplement to the existing communications infrastructure. Eutelsat Broadband is right at the very forefront of this development.
