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Satellite positioning

The MicroSat is an innovative satellite IP terminal that marries a flat panel antenna, which offers a far greater array than comparable parabolic antennas, with the low cost of commercial satellite bandwidth – and packs them into a compact, all-in-one casing that weighs just 21kg.

GigaSat showcased its first commercial Ku-band version of MicroSat at IBC2009, among a comprehensive range of fly-away and drive-away antennas and satellite sub-system products.

Following on from the success of the military X-band MicroSat, which was unveiled at last year’s IBC, this new, highly-compact satellite IP terminal is the world’s first genuine broadband IP newsgathering terminal transportable as carry-on airline baggage.

The MicroSat’s flat panel antenna array offers 90% efficiency, which means it achieves comprehensive big system performance. It uses commercial satellite bandwidth which is approximately one tenth of the cost of, for example, Inmarsat. It offers a minimum data rate of 2Mbps (up to 4Mbps) and is supplied with a choice of integral DVB-RCS modems from Advantech, I-Direct or Hughes. It’s available in X, Ku and Ka bands, with polarization used on circular bands to optimise performance at X-band. It’s capable of video transmission in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 formats, too.

Because there are no bandwidth limitations, MicroSat is ideal for many broadband data connection requirements, including disaster relief, first-to-air newsgathering and secure government and military communications. Indeed, MicroSat’s first customer is the British Military, to whom GigaSat begins supplying later this week.

“A lot of first-to-air newsgathering content is currently transmitted using a compact, lightweight B-GAN terminal: conventional SNG terminals are simply too big to transport quickly to a breaking news story,” said Trevor Vizard, Sales Manager at Giga Communications Ltd. “However, B-GAN terminals are inherently limited due to their bandwidth (a maximum of approximately 512Kbps) and as a result can produce diminished picture quality. While MicroSat is not quite as compact as a B-GAN, it is small enough for a news gatherer to transport more easily, with uncontested bandwidths in excess of 2Mbps – and at a fraction of the transmission cost.”

GigaSat, a division of Giga-Group, is a leading supplier of mobile and fly-away satellite earth stations.

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