SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the world’s only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system.
The company is preparing to commercially launch the new satellite-enabled communications system in 2021, O3b mPOWER, that will drive superior performance in critical cloud applications and a wide range of real-time, latency-sensitive communications for end-users across enterprise, government and mobility segments.
Antonio Bove, Vice President Fixed Data Sales Europe of SES Networks, says the company launched its first O3b medium orbit (MEO) satellite communication system in 2013, with the name reflecting the company’s wish to bring connectivity to the 3 billion people who did not have access to it at the time. “O3b mPOWER will take this a step further, by allowing users to enjoy the highest level of communication achievable anywhere in the world. With its extensive reach, it promises to cover up to 96% of the global population and extend the reach of existing networks to basically anywhere in the world,” he added.
Unmatched throughput, low-latency, and direct cloud access allows SES’s O3b mPOWER solutions to provide telco, MNO and service provider customers the ability to differentiate on performance and deliver more value to end-users.
Extending 4G and 5G networks to reach new subscribers, fulfill USOs, or connecting remote industries represents an important growth potential in the industry. However, it can be challenging in many situations. For example, the time required to build fibre infrastructure, the associated cost and complexity, combined with unpredictable traffic patterns make the ROI disputable. Today telecommunication providers need a solution not tied to distance, with capacity that can be dynamically shared continuously as demand requires. Moreover, the pressure on the networks is increasing constantly, as the need for connectivity surges to cope with seasonal peaks and on-demand capacity.
“With innovative and deployed at scale satellite technologies, O3b mPOWER can handle from 50Mbps CIR full duplex services to thousands of uncontended multi-gigabit-per-second services over large regions with fibre-like performance. Telcos, MNOs, and service providers now have a solution to augment and protect core networks for sustained market-share expansion and continued business success”, Antonio Bove explains.
“Our Managed Mobile Backhaul solution connects the core network to the hard-to-reach or hard-to-exploit 4G towers with a managed service backed with a rigorous SLA”, SES’s specialist adds. “We scale the management and integration of the solution to fit our customers’ needs, from simple satellite coverage, up to full turnkey end-to-end management.”
O3b mPOWER satellites can give users the same benefits as fibre, such as a lot of bandwidth and low latency, but, unlike fibre, it can be up and running within a week. The solution is also competitively priced, underlines Bove, thanks to SES’s unique price positioning in combination with its high bandwidth, low latency, flexibility, and the many end points it can cover.
What’s next for SES in the near future? Antonio Bove explains: “We are working on building the multi-orbit ‘Network of the Future’ through the launch of O3b mPOWER software defined satellite network delivering Terabit of throughput. With our recent extension of the partnership with Microsoft Azure, we are continuing to deliver on our vision for cloud-enabled, multi-orbit, seamless, automated and flexible network services. So, we can say without a doubt that satellite enabled networks are playing a crucial role in responding to trends and preparing businesses for the future, like development of 5G, improving the mobile backhaul experience, creating direct paths to the cloud, and introducing new network architectures and standards for the industry.”
