Offshore staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Cobham SATCOM’s SAILOR VSAT antennas are approved for operation on the existing Ku-band as well as the forthcoming THOR 7 Ka-band satellite from Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc). THOR 7, TSBc’s latest satellite is expected to be launched in 4Q 2014, and is equipped with a Ka-band HTS payload.
The SAILOR 800 VSAT and SAILOR 900 VSAT are approved to support Ku-band services on the existing THOR fleet. Additionally, SAILOR 900 VSAT will be compatible with THOR 7.
Covering the 1°West region, THOR 7’s Ka-band capacity is positioned over the main shipping routes in Europe and oil and gas exploration and production areas including the North Sea.
The THOR 7 Ka-band HTS payload offers 6-9 Gbps throughput with up to 25 simultaneously active spot beams. Services will offer speeds in the tens of Mbps downlink, even from small antennas says Telenor. Uplink speeds will be from 2Mbps to 6Mbps depending on antenna. TSBc is implementing a package of solutions to mitigate rain fade on Ka-band, including a new uplink site in Norway to provide antenna site diversity.
“THOR 7’s Ka-band HTS payload has been specifically designed for the mobility VSAT market, offering highly concentrated and high-powered coverage over our main market area, including the North Sea, Mediterranean, and the Baltic Sea,” commented Julian Crudge, divisional director, Datacomms, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting. “The Ka-band HTS payload adds growth capacity for our maritime and energy customers, and SAILOR antennas will be ready for the start of THOR 7 Ka-band service delivery.”
03/10/2014
