Intelsat Intros Broadband Satellite Platform

Satellite services provider Intelsat S.A. has introduced the Intelsat Epic satellite platform, a new series of satellites based upon an open architecture design. Intelsat Epic will be deployed for wireless and fixed telecommunications, enterprise, mobility, video and government applications requiring broadband infrastructure across the major continents.

The Epic platform approach to satellite and network architecture uses multiple frequency bands, wide beams, spot beams and frequency reuse technology. A complementary overlay, Epic will be fully integrated with Intelsat’s existing satellite fleet and global IntelsatONE terrestrial network, the company said.

Combining Intelsat’s spectral rights in the C-, Ku- and Ka-bands with the technical advantages of high throughput technology, the Intelsat Epic platform will be fully open architecture. Intelsat’s customers will be able to use existing hardware and network topologies, and in many cases, define their own service characteristics, allowing them to offer customized solutions to their end users.

“The Intelsat Epic platform represents the next generation of satellites, a progressive evolution of the Intelsat fleet,” said Intelsat CEO Dave McGlade. “As the global demand for bandwidth surges and penetration of communications reaches ever further into developing regions and mobile applications, we are strategically investing in this platform to support our customers with a highly reliable and efficient broadband infrastructure as they launch new services and enter new geographies.”

According to Intelsat, he Epic series will offer the following benefits to customers:

• Higher performance and lower cost per-bit.

• Wide beams and spot beams provide the benefits of broadcast and high throughput.

• Multiband frequencies aligned to region- and application-specific requirements.

• Open architecture:
  • Backward compatibility; use of existing network infrastructure and customer-preferred network topology.
  • Forward compatible as ground technology advances.
• High throughput, high efficiency, high availability enables smaller terminals, supporting growing applications such as mobility and aero, and benefitting increasingly data-centric services like cellular backhaul.

Initially, the Intelsat Epic platform will feature two next-generation satellites, and Intelsat is evaluating proposals by several manufacturers. These first two satellites, Intelsat 29e and Intelsat 33e, have projected in-services dates in 2015 and 2016, and feature wide coverage and high throughput capacity; combined, they will serve every populated region in the world.