Although the content at AFCEA West is applicable to all of the military, the event is heavily attended and focused on those in the “sea service” branches of the military – including the Navy, Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command and Coast Guard. In fact, I would call AFCEA West the premier sea service conference on the west coast – and possibly in the country.

Although not specifically satellite communications (SATCOM) focused, I’m always excited to attend AFCEA West because SATCOM is so essential to the missions of these sea service military organizations. SATCOM is their life-line, connecting them back to decision makers at home. Based on discussions at this year’s event, its role is only becoming more essential as the nature of warfare changes.

Why satellite for the sea services?
The Navy and the other sea services have a unique challenge that the other branches of the military don’t face. At sea, they have limitations which prevent them from communicating in the same manner as their counterparts in other services.

It’s for this reason that satellite has become so essential for the sea services. Communicating mission essential data and information to and from at sea platforms means sending it via satellite.

This is especially true in regions where sea services are providing support for critically important, national level missions – in the littoral regions in Southwest Asia, Africa and the western Pacific. Some of these regions are literally on the opposite side of the globe, making satellite connectivity all the more essential.

More connected means more bandwidth
Today’s warfighter is more connected and more reliant on information technology (IT) services and capabilities than ever before. The same can be said for ships at sea. The same IT services and capabilities that are available to U.S. service personnel on land are expected at sea, and those IT services, and capabilities are increasingly hosted in the cloud and require high bandwidth connections to run effectively.

At the same time, the nature and format of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) data has changed and evolved. Today’s advanced sensors, Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) platforms and other sources of intelligence are generating higher resolution, high definition (HD), and sometimes streaming video. They’re also generating more data than the military can effectively and efficiently process, exploit and disseminate.

All told, the military is generating countless terabytes of data each day. With large files and an embarrassment of data riches being shared across the military, the need for high bandwidth connections to platforms becomes increasingly essential.

There is always the need to increase efficiency and operate more effectively. One of the ways that the sea services have identified to accomplish this is to share resources across multiple ships.

Take medical personnel as an example. Having a team of doctors aboard each ship means having one team for each ship at sea. Instead, if video teleconferencing (VTC) was utilized in telemedicine installations aboard each ship, a single team of specialists and other medical personnel could be shared – cutting costs and helping increase efficiency.

To accomplish IT implementations such as this, however, high bandwidth and low latency connections are required. Luckily, these connections are available and starting to see adoption across the military.

MEO HTS steals the show
The isolated nature of the sea services and their increasing reliance on IT capabilities and applications make satellite essential. But, traditional GEO satellite constellations could struggle to affordably deliver the throughputs necessary to run these advanced applications.

That’s why advanced Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) High Throughput Satellites (HTS) was the topic of so many of my discussions at AFCEA West this year.

The decision makers and senior leaders of the sea services understand they need higher throughputs and lower latencies to meet warfighting applications with demanding bandwidth requirements, including delivering large-file transfers, streaming HD videos, video teleconferencing, and many others. MEO HTS managed services are satellite solutions that can deliver it for them.

The conversations that I had at this year’s AFCEA West are indicative of a larger trend we’re seeing across the military – a reliance on higher throughputs, lower latency solutions provided in a cost-effective managed service.  Although we’ve not – yet – delivered this type of service to any of the U.S. sea services, their demand for greater capacity will eventually lead them to a MEO solution.  SES Space and Defense is ready to support and deliver!

To learn more about how MEO constellations can be used to enable a more connected, modern Navy and Marine Corps, download the whitepaper, “High Throughput on the High Seas,” by clicking HERE.

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The requirements that Navy platforms place on satellite solutions and networks is shifting as its IT capabilities and applications evolve. New, more advanced adversaries are increasingly capable of denying satellite communications through interference, jamming and even kinetic attacks.

Government Satellite Report sponsor, SES Space and Defense, recently released an interesting whitepaper entitled, “High Throughput on the High Seas,” that explores these shifting satellite demands and requirements in fine detail, and explores how a new generation of satellite technologies could answer the Navy’s call for more bandwidth and increased resiliency.

To learn more about the Navy’s demands and the new satellite technologies that can help to fill them, we sat down with Paul Damphousse, the Senior Director for Business Development at SES Space and Defense. Here is what he had to say:

Government Satellite Report (GSR): According to Breaking Defense, the President and Naval leaders are looking to bolster the Navy fleet and ensure that it’s ready and prepared to face our increasingly sophisticated adversaries. Does a larger fleet impact existing networks? Does an expanded fleet require additional throughput and connectivity?

Paul Damphousse (PD): The answer to both of those questions is, “yes.” Ultimately, the more platforms that you have, the more demand that you’re going to have for additional throughput. That means more bandwidth is going to be required.

Even beyond the sheer number of platforms, the requirements for throughput is increasing. That has a lot to do with where technology is going in general, where the demands of our naval leaders are going and where our required capabilities are going.

GSR: Let’s explore that further. What network enabled capabilities is the Navy looking to enable? How do these new capabilities increase demand for throughput and bandwidth?

PD: Sure. Those new capabilities include the ability to do video teleconferencing (VTC), download large files, and the ability to monitor multiple high definition video streams simultaneously – just to name a few. Everyone expects higher throughputs and lower latencies and faster speeds, whether it’s for logistics backhaul, operations, or simple comms.

Take – for example – situations where the Navy is employing direct, tactical kinetic strikes. The Navy and Marine Corps are employing tactical ISR platforms that are always overhead before, during and after strikes. Those platforms are becoming more ubiquitous and part of our concepts of operations (CONOPS). Throughput and bandwidth are required to move those video images back to command and control nodes where decisions are being made.

Also, we’re increasingly operating in what is sometimes referred to as an anti-access/area denial (A2AD) environment, where ships must operate in and around a denied battlespace. Some of our potential adversaries now have long-range, stand-off weapons which can hold our maritime assets at risk far off-shore. These weapons take your assets you past line of sight and out of direct communications range for ISR and targeting solutions. That pushes you beyond line-of-sight where SATCOM becomes a better solution.

Finally, more and more maritime systems are becoming network-enabled. In addition to our traditional manned ships, submarines, and aircraft, the Navy is incorporating new unmanned semi-autonomous and autonomous platforms. All that data has to move throughout the battlespace or backhauled to operations centers. This creates two-way requirements for high throughput, lower latency connections that can only be met with satellite.

GSR: Why is SATCOM – especially the new MEO and HTS SATCOM solutions – a good solution for filling these bandwidth requirements?

PD: HTS makes use of frequency reuse, enabling you to use beam cells and reuse the frequencies fairly close to one another. And that enables incredibly high throughput. These HTS satellites are sitting in GEO orbit and have the same latency as other systems, however, their throughput is much higher.

When we talk about our medium earth orbit (MEO) constellation, we’re discussing satellites that are  closer to the Earth, in a lower orbit. At an attitude of 8,000 km or roughly 5,000 miles we can attain latencies as low 150 ms and throughputs as high as 1.6 Gbps.

That allows you to do things like ISR and targeting with rich, high definition, potentially 4K video that gives you a higher resolution picture of the battlespace. A GEO link is up to half a second or more of latency – in a tactical environment, that’s sometimes far too much latency to make real time decisions.

Just to reiterate, our MEO satellites are considered HTS satellites. They offer the higher throughput of an HTS satellite, but they’re also in a lower orbit and have lower latency, as well.

GSR: Adversaries of today and tomorrow will be more sophisticated and capable than adversaries of the past – with the potential to deny our military SATCOM connectivity through kinetic attacks on satellites and jamming. How do these MEO and HTS solutions deliver resiliency and mission assurance in space in the face of these threats?

PD: Admittedly, our space systems have some vulnerabilities today that they didn’t have in the past.   The paradigm has shifted with more state and non-actors able to adversely impact our space assets.  Space is now viewed as a contested environment as opposed to the virtual sanctuary that it once was. So when you have vulnerabilities in your architecture, it’s generally not a good idea to put all of your eggs in one basket.

There are a number of military satellites and communications systems that the military makes use of. If those systems are compromised or degraded in some fashion, that could have a direct impact on operations.

But, when you diversify beyond the traditional government systems – and add a full suite of systems from commercial providers across multiple different orbits and bandwidth – that builds inherent resiliency into the system. In that environment, the government has a full suite of solutions and services to choose from should any part of the architecture be compromised.

In the case of our MEO constellation individual spot beams are both steerable and have relatively discreet footprints on the Earth. For interference or jamming to occur, the interferer or jammer would need to know where that beam was pointed and the ephemeris data of the satellite. If they figure out both of those things – which is pretty tough – the beam can just be steered in such a way as to null the jammer or interferer.

When you look at it holistically – having a suite of different solutions, different orbits, different frequencies, and having these capabilities that are inherently difficult to interfere with or jam – the military can greatly improve their resiliency by embracing these solutions from commercial satellite providers.

GSR: What has the reaction been like to HTS and MEO solutions across the military?

PD: We’ve had a variety of customers and military decision makers come through the teleport here in Virginia and get a demo of the capabilities that HTS and MEO can provide. They’ve also toured our ops center to see these solutions in action. We have conducted multiple MEO demonstrations aboard ships and in maritime environments as well.

Interestingly, the Marine Corps has been one of the most interested military organizations. We feel that MEO can be an enabler of new, advanced capabilities for Marine Corps expeditionary forces, and they agree. We had an incredible and positive reaction to our MEO demonstrations at the recent Modern Day Marine Expo in Quantico, VA.

What’s even more exciting is that there is more MEO capacity coming online that the military can utilize in the very near future. SES has four more MEO satellites being launched in 2018 – and then four more satellites being launched in 2019. That’s an additional 80 beams that will be available for military use soon.

To learn more about the benefits of MEO and HTS satellites for maritime environments and for the increasingly network-enabled platforms being implemented across the Navy, download the new whitepaper, “High Throughput on the High Seas,” by clicking HERE.

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These events provide the military with the ability to conduct field experiments on new resources and technologies to assess if they could potentially improve operations for the military, disaster response, and emergency management. They also provide a cooperative learning environment where military personnel come together with other federal, state and local agencies to identify best practices and new ways in which technology improves operational efficiency, effectiveness and mission assurance.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend a JIFX event at Camp Roberts that was testing out the use of our O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellation for the distribution and dissemination of 4K video. The project – entitled the NPS Video Cloud System Project – was intended to test interoperable communication solutions in network-denied disaster response environments.

Effectively, the government was looking to utilize advanced computer hardware and video codecs, in conjunction with MEO satellite services, to, “…stream live 4K video via satellite from remote locations in support of military public affairs organizations.”

Connectivity for NPS, as well as a large proportion of current military operations, occur in remote, network-denied regions. This makes streaming live video over MEO satellites for public affairs purposes, or Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) purposes, critical.

More data, more (bandwidth) challenges
The JIFX test – which proved to be extremely successful – is an indication of things to come for America’s military. Data distribution and sharing requirements are increasingly important in everything that the military does and will only grow in the future. As such, the types and sizes of files being sent are shifting rapidly.

Today’s military is looking for ways to send more data than ever before. Even with advanced codecs, compression technologies and specialized hardware, essential communication capabilities such as video teleconferencing (VTC), 4K video and real time mobile applications utilize much more bandwidth than what the military traditionally sent over its networks in the past.

The ability to transmit and receive these files efficiently and with zero packet loss is why MEO satellite constellations are such an attractive option for the military. These satellites have the same ability as GEO satellites to deliver data, voice and video into practically any geographic location – particularly to those with no or little terrestrial network infrastructure. However, in contrast to GEO satellites, MEO satellites are approximately one quarter the distance from Earth. This proximity enables the constellation to deliver higher throughput (up to 600 Mbps/600Mbps) with much lower latency (less than 200 milliseconds, end-to-end). This equates to delivery of a fiber-like connectivity from space.

The JIFX test focused on transmitting 4K video for public affairs teams, however this application is just one of many for this technology in the military. Here are a few more:

• ISR – Delivering 4K and HD video reconnaissance and intelligence to and from battlefields to improve situational awareness.
• Large file transfer – Transmitting of today’s large files (100 GB in 27 minutes) – from video to large datasets – between warfighters in the field and senior decision makers.
• Interactive, real time applications – Powering the use of mobile applications that request data in real time for full effectiveness and capability.
• 4G LTE bubbles – Using MEO satellites for mobile backhaul to power pockets of 4G connectivity and enable the use of military mobile devices and other technologies.
• Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) – Delivering internet connectivity and social media access for warfighters in the field

The successful JIFX test proved that MEO can deliver connectivity in network-denied areas.  It is clear that current and future military technologies require the bandwidth that MEO can deliver. But, can the military afford it?

Analyzing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for MEO
MEO satellite constellations are built for delivering large amounts of data with low latency.  MEO delivers that capability efficiently and cost effectively, which is essential for the military today. In fact, there are multiple concepts of operation (CONOPs) that are ideal for MEO satellite constellations, most involving the transfer of large amounts of data traffic (100 Mbps).

In these specific large data application scenarios, the military has examined the TCO of MEO – and they like what they see.

MEO constellations are built for high bandwidth applications. In contrast to GEO constellations, MEO offers a much lower cost per megabit alternative. Considering how much bandwidth could be used transmitting real time data or live streaming 4K video, the bandwidth per Mb price truly comes in to focus.

Overall, the use of MEO satellite constellations for high bandwidth implementations can save as much as 25 to 50 percent of what it would cost for the same amount of throughput on a GEO constellation. Over a very short time (less than six months), this results in significant savings for the U.S. government, making year over year operation extremely economical as compared to GEO.

That being said, MEO satellites will never replace GEO for all military implementations and uses. In many CONOPS, GEO is still the better solution.

When GEO trumps MEO
Having spent the better part of 900 words extolling the benefits of MEO satellites, it would be a disservice to my readers if I didn’t mention that MEO constellations are not the superior choice in all instances. In fact, legacy GEO satellite constellations, as well as newly emerging High Throughput Satellite (HTS) constellations, will continue to break new barriers in service.

Evident in the image below, MEO beams (450 miles diameter) cover significantly less area than GEO beams. This means that any CONOP that requires moving over large distances will obviate the need for GEO. GEO beams cover so much geography that any movement within a relatively large area will still be covered – most likely by the same GEO beam.

GEO connectivity is important to the military, since warfighters, camps, and vehicles that require connectivity do not always stay in one place. In fact, they are often mobile over a wide geographic region. In these instances, the small coverage area of a MEO satellite beam is trumped by the more ubiquitous GEO beam.

IT and data are essential for our modern military, and the bandwidth demands of the next generation solutions and IT capabilities that the military is utilizing in the field are rising. The military needs high throughput connectivity in network-denied areas. MEO is the only solution that can deliver the fiber-like connectivity the military needs, without the physical fiber – and without breaking the bank.

Additional resources:

• White Paper: O3b “Fiber Like” Satellite Communications for U.S. Government Applications
• Milsat Magazine: What Fiber in the Sky Means to the Warfighter Today
• Video: Fiber in the Sky

The post The cost efficiency of MEO for today’s high throughput and low latency demands appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

SATCOM also enables drones to relay real-time intelligence and situational awareness, identification and communication of ingress and egress routes and facilitates assessments detailing whether emergency responders could be in immediate danger.

These volatile situations also require video conferencing capability between emergency personnel and senior leaders so that they can evaluate conditions on the ground.  Given the likely destruction of pre-existing capabilities, SATCOM may be the only alternative.

SATCOM Brings the Backup
We saw in the wake of many recent disasters and emergencies that radio communications and networks can be brought down due to damage to terrestrial infrastructure or the simple overloading of networks. This was especially true following Superstorm Sandy and 9/11 in and around New York City, where the sheer number of family and friends trying to check on their loved ones overloaded networks and made it impossible to connect via mobile device to anyone on the ground.

This is a real concern that can derail a coordinated emergency response effort, and is only exasperated by the natural restrictions of radio networks – including line-of-sight limitations.

That’s why Commercial SATCOM (COMSATCOM) is becoming a desirable back-up for nations looking to build redundancy and resiliency into their disaster and emergency response communications networks. Satellite communications aren’t restricted by line-of-site requirements and can be more resilient than radio networks. By deploying mobile terminal systems, satellites will continue to operate through earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, terrorist attacks and any other emergency situations – ensuring that the flow of information is never compromised.

Case Study: Emegency.lu
Emergency.lu is a global multi-layer platform for the international humanitarian community that aims to improve the worldwide preparedness and rapid response capacity by filling the communication gap in the first hours and days after a disaster.

When a natural disaster hits, it is vital that those needing help have access to a system that provides efficient and critical communications. But with terrestrial services often damaged, disrupted , or becoming overloaded by people phoning for help, providing a connection with the rest of the world is often a difficult and lengthy process.

Video: How Emergency.Lu provides humanitarian assistance via satellite

This is where emergency.lu comes in. Since emergency.lu is a multi-layer platform consisting of satellite infrastructure and capacity, communication and coordination services, satellite ground terminals for rapid as well as long-term deployment and transportation of equipment to the disaster area within the first 12 to 20 hours. It can restore communication capabilities quickly and thus enable efficient rescue efforts or information flow from those affected to their loved ones.

The 24/7 basis of the emergency.lu platform is an innovative, end-to-end service for the international humanitarian community. This pioneering platform has improved the effectiveness of rapid response.

Next-Generation Emergency Response Communications
With the emergence of high throughput satellites (HTS), and next-generation LEO and MEO constellations that offer incredible throughputs and low latency, COMSATCOM has become a viable alternative for delivering voice, video and data – regardless of how much bandwidth is required.

Today’s disaster and emergency response is more effective than ever before. It works quickly to stem the amount of property damage, reduce the number of casualties and works to ensure the safety of the emergency responders providing relief. To accomplish this, emergency response teams rely on constant communication and collaboration. Nations are increasingly turning to COMSATCOM to deliver the resiliency and redundancy they need to ensure the networks driving communication are always on and always available – regardless of the conditions on the ground.

For more information on the use of COMSATCOM in emergency situations, click on the following additional resources:

• Milsat Magazine: What Fiber in the Sky Means to the Warfighter Today
• RFI Response: Operational Trial Of A Satellite Communication System For New Jersey’s First Responders
• White Paper: Saving Livelihoods by Satellite
• O3b Infographic

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Video: How commercial SATCOM provides telemedicine in Bangladesh

But what if the patient is a soldier in theater, far removed from a military hospital? And what if they’re sick or injured and require specialized care?

In these instances, the healthcare services that a warfighter needs can be a Humvee and helicopter ride away – or further. This means a lot of time can pass between the points when a life-threatening injury is sustained and when life-saving care is administered.

What’s the answer to remote specialized care in contested environments? One of the solutions lies in telemedicine.

A look at telemedicine and its benefits on the battlefield
Telemedicine is one of many technologies and capabilities that fall under the umbrella of e-health – the universal term given to the innovative use of technology to provide medical care or services. Telemedicine – as we see it in healthcare practices and organizations today – involves the use of advanced video teleconferencing (VTC) devices to deliver medical attention to a patient that is geographically separated from the healthcare provider.

Utilizing VTC for telemedicine implementations could get proper care to a wounded soldier much more quickly.  VTC capability is not limited to tablet or smart phones. Nor is it limited to a geographical location, given that the satellite provider linking the VTC has global coverage.

The challenge of delivering care via video in theater
Telemedicine is still considered a relatively new technology and is still just catching on across America’s healthcare community for a very good reason.  The HD VTC technology capable of delivering the necessary quality and experience is relatively new and far more advanced than the early video conferencing technologies that first entered the marketplace.

Even with advanced technologies that reduce bandwidth requirements of HD VTC – a high bandwidth connection and larger amounts of throughput are necessary for HD audio and video. This can be a problem in remote operations/theaters, where terrestrial fiber and other high-speed, high-bandwidth networks may not be available to the warfighter.

However, there is another solution that is being implemented right now for use in the delivery of care to civilians that could make telemedicine and other e-health capabilities a possibility for the warfighter, regardless of where they’re stationed.

Meet SatMed
In late July, the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and the NGO, German Doctors, partnered with commercial satellite provider SES to launch a satellite-based e-health platform called SATMED at the German Doctors’ hospital in Davao City in the Philippines.

Davao City is the largest city on southern-most Philippine island of Mindanao.  Davao City is quite far from the nation’s capital, and largest city, Manila, which is on the northern-most island of the Philippine archipelago. This geographic divide can make it difficult for citizens in the remote areas around Davao City to access the same resources available to those in the big cities and other islands.

However, SatMed is enabling German Doctors to provide better quality healthcare services when they visit remote villages through mobile devices that can:

• Enable collection of – and access to – patient data
• Allow doctors to keep tabs on large groups of patients living in remote villages through text messaging
• Enable German Doctors to communicate with doctors and medical experts around the world via video conferencing
• Provide training for local medical professionals via e-learning solutions

Utilizing today’s high-bandwidth and low-latency satellites, SatMed is capable of delivering VTC, telemedicine and other e-health capabilities into remote areas of the Philippines that don’t have the traditional, terrestrial networks necessary to power them. These regions face many of the same technology and connectivity challenges facing warfighters in theater, which makes SatMed a great case study for how satellite can be utilized by the United States military to deliver similar capabilities to the tip of the spear.

Telemedicine offers incredible opportunities to deliver healthcare services, remotely and quickly, to soldiers without having to wait to be transported to where medical professionals and care waits for them. By utilizing satellite for telemedicine and delivering care more quickly, we can ensure better outcomes not only to those in need of humanitarian assistance, but to our soldiers as well.

Additional Resources:

• Milsat Magazine: What Fiber in the Sky Means to the Warfighter Today
• RFI Response: Operational Trial Of A Satellite Communication System For New Jersey’s First Responders
• White Paper: Saving Livelihoods by Satellite

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