Global Satellite Communications provider NSSLGlobal Ltd and Telemar Scandinavia become the first satellite providers, in conjunction with their core technology partner STM, to announce the introduction of ACM (Adaptive Coding and Modulation) combined with the new DVB-RCS2 standard across all their VSAT network Hubs and customers with the switch-over taking place by the end of March.
The industry leading DVB-RCS2 standard recently underwent a technology leap, bringing the potential of satellite communications to a whole new level. The ACM in DVB-S2 carriers alongside the new ACM capabilities in the DVB-RCS2 standard (“RCS2”) for TDMA carriers not only improves 2-way satellite link efficiencies it also rockets throughput potential by up to 250 percent as well as providing up to 2dB more gain allowing extended coverage and link availability in what was previously edge of beam.
ACM, one of the latest developments in DVB technology, counters the problem of Rain Fade; the degradation of signal integrity in poor weather conditions. ACM enables dedicated management of each individual VSAT unit within a spot-beam. It allows the signal sent to each unit to be optimised specifically for the location and interference levels of that individual unit. Previously the signal sent through from the network hub was either fixed, or compensating for the worst conditions any of the individual units suffered. However, with dedicated signal management provided by ACM the network Hub can regulate each VSAT individually, ensuring that every unit receives the optimum signal quality for its specific location and conditions. The implementation of ACM will have a resounding effect on the performance of the VSATs within the network. The modification will yield improvements of 40% to 100% bandwidth efficiency to units affected by Rain Fade, as well as providing an increased coverage area and graceful service degradation during poor conditions. In addition, the major advance from DVB-RCS to DVB-RCS2 offers 8 PSK and 16 QAM modulation options as well as the usual QPSK, providing additional gain of up to 2dB. Particularly important is that ACM is also implemented on the TDMA carriers allowing for dramatic improvements in average network capacity and link availability over TDMA carriers in high-frequency satellite networks without increasing antenna sizes.
Bjorn Platou of STM says: “The upgrade of STM’s technology to the latest RCS2 standard is a revolutionary breakthrough in the satellite communications industry, raising the bar for efficiency and speed while remaining a trusted, open standard. It is the most significant advancement in TDMA burst-mode technology within the last 15 years and sets a new benchmark that other TDM/TDMA network technologies – which are proprietary or non-standard – have yet to match. STM are pleased to be at the forefront of this game changing technology.”
On the introduction of RCS2 Tomas Martinsson of Telemar Scandinavia comments: “No other satellite supplier provides RCS2 yet because it requires major changes to their old and proprietary architectures. With the implementation of RCS2 our customers will be at the forefront of this technology change and be able to benefit from enhanced service availability, coverage and throughput at no additional cost”
Sally-Anne Ray, COO at NSSLGlobal, further comments: “At NSSLGlobal we take pride in being world leaders in DVB technology. The introduction of RCS2 alongside the recent implementation of Adaptive Coding Modulation is a significant step forward for our network and a quantum leap ahead of our competitors. It will provide our customers with a noticeable improvement in the quality of service they receive and will ensure that we at NSSLGlobal continue to maximise the potential of our growing cutting edge network. It will also provide our customers with the future choice of airtime packages of up to 40 Mbps without any changes to their existing equipment”.