Hughes Network Systems, LLC. (HUGHES) has reported that Optus Satellite has selected the Hughes JUPITER™ System as its satellite platform to offer nexgen services to the firm's customers.
The companies signed a multi-year master services agreement, under which Optus Satellite will purchase JUPITER System equipment to: extend 3G and 4G services; lay the foundation for 5G; power enterprise services such as satellite news gathering; and deliver mobility services for maritime vessels – all throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Hughes JUPITER™ System backhauls all generations of cellular technologies. A high-performance platform, the JUPITER System delivers 300 Mbps throughput per terminal with acceleration supporting 16,000 simultaneous TCP sessions. Employing the DVB-S2X standard for highly efficient use of satellite bandwidth, the platform saves up to 60 percent of satellite bandwidth with integrated 4G/LTE optimization. The JUPITER System supports applications such as broadband internet access, community Wi-Fi hotspots, and in-flight connectivity services, in addition to cellular backhaul.
Nick Leake, head of satellite networks, Optus, reported that the company selected the JUPITER System as the firm's ‘platform of the future’ as it gives the company the reach and scale that needed to bring advanced services to customers everywhere, cost-effectively and with optimal network performance. To serve as many Australians as possible, satellite forms an essential link in the Optus network — whether for consumer or business applications — and the JUPITER System will help the company deliver the reach and scale needed to support customers.
Ramesh Ramaswamy, SVP and GM, International Division, Hughes, added that whether across Australia or across the Americas, the network must reach everywhere for people and businesses to reap the social and economic benefits of being connected — and satellite is the ideal way to extend those networks. With the JUPITER System, Optus can offer services in areas that are impossible — or prohibitively expensive — to reach using traditional terrestrial means, such as fiber, cable or microwave.
Also, Hughes announced the launch of commercial maritime mobility services in India.
HCIL maritime mobility services was the first to receive a Flight and Maritime Connectivity (FMC) license in India, which permits the company to provide mobility services within 125 kilometers of the Indian coastline. Now, as the first to offer satellite maritime services in India, HCIL enables reliable and ubiquitous connectivity to vessels sailing in domestic waters — as well as internationally, through roaming partnerships with select maritime providers.
Until now, ships entering Indian territorial waters were required to shut down their VSAT connections; now, they can connect to HCIL’s high-speed Ku-band satellite network. This connectivity ensures that ships and their crews switch seamlessly to the HCIL network (much like terrestrial mobile roaming), with uninterrupted data and voice applications from the port of origin to the port of destination.
HCIL’s maritime mobility services deliver high capacity and efficiency, enabling broadband access that can be used to monitor weather patterns, cut fuel costs, file regulatory documents, order supplies from sea to save time in port, and improve safety, among other uses. For crew and passenger welfare, the services make it possible for people at sea to browse the internet, check social media, watch videos and more — with the quality comparable to that of terrestrial broadband connectivity.
The HCIL maritime service offering includes the Hughes JUPITER™ System platform domestically and provides for roaming among international waterways with global ecosystem partners. The JUPITER System is the next generation platform for very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks, designed and optimized for broadband services over both high-throughput and conventional satellites.
Partho Banerjee, President and MD, Hughes Communications India Ltd., noted that maritime operators in India — whether cruise lines, shipping companies or offshore oil operators — are eager to connect their vessels, crews and passengers with high-quality, satellite broadband — and Hughes is ready to serve them today. The company estimates that more than 500 Indian vessels will use Indian maritime services in the next three years to stay connected. Two customers have already signed on for the firm's maritime mobility service offering.