Astrium and NewSat for Lockheed Martin

Astrium Satellites, one of the three business units of Astrium, a subsidiary of EADS, are providing Ku band and Ka bands payload hardware to NewSat, to date, the largest independent satellite communications provider in Australia, as reported by Space News, the online publication of record for civil space, military space, commercial space, and satellite communications business.


They will be under a contract with Jabiru-1 prime contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin, which will represent a breakthrough for Astrium’s product division. According to Andreas Lindenthal, Head of Astrium Satellites’ Product Department, Astrium was well placed for the Lockheed Martin contract after a development program for Ku band communications receivers and Ka band beacons. The two was funded in part by the European Space Agency (ESA), established in 1975), an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 19 member states, and the UK Space Agency, a British government agency responsible for United Kingdom’ civil space programme.


See: Satellite Communications Provider

Intelsat to offer EpicNG Ku-band satellite internet for MTN cruise, yacht customers

Satellite services provider Intelsat S.A. and communications provider MTN Satellite Communications announced that they will provide high-speed marine satellite internet and communications services for the cruise and yacht sectors through Intelsat's next-gen EpicNG Ku-band satellite.

Intelsat and MTN entered a long-term agreement where MTN will initially use capacity on Intelsat's Ku-band mobile global broadband infrastructure to provide Caribbean cruise and yacht operators with satellite Internet and communications. In 2015, Intelsat will launch its first EpicNG satellite, Intelsat 29e, which will bring massively-increased broadband capacity and coverage to the satcom playing field. MTN will then partly transition to EpicNG platform and provide custom-designed service featuring up to 2 Gbps capacity in important Caribbean regions.

The EpicNG Ku-band satellite will complement Intelsat's existing, extensive network of earlier platforms.

"MTN has been an important partner to Intelsat for more than two decades," said Steve Spengler, Intelsat EVP of Sales, Marketing and Strategy, "and is one of the true pioneers of the maritime VSAT sector." According to EVP Spengler, the Intelsat EpicNG platform will allow MTN to differentiate its service features and provide much higher throughput to each individual vessel. The widespread availability of affordable, reliable connectivity would change the cruise ship and yachting experience.

Errol Olivier, President and CEO of MTN Satellite Communications, stated that the Intelsat EpicNG infrastructure was "game-changing" and "will allow us to once again set the bar for broadband telecommunications at sea." MTN's eventual move to EpicNG would be the the first strategic step to provide services beyond increased satellite bandwidth.

"Our cruise and yacht customers want to offer their guests and crew the same Internet experience they have at home or at land-based resorts." President Olivier said. "We are confident that our service on Intelsat EpicNG, along with our other innovative wireless and application optimization solutions, will exceed our customers expectations."

Kevin McCarthy, MTN's SVP of Network Engineering, agreed with his boss. "The innovative Intelsat EpicNG platform will give us unprecedented control," he said, "Allowing us to customize every aspect of the service."

EpicNG service would not just provide a huge boost in throughput and reliability. It would also maintain backwards compatibility with the rest of MTN's global Ku-band network.

"Our cruise and yacht customers will be able to seamlessly roam into our high-throughput beams with their existing Ku antennas," SVP McCarthy pointed out.