Asingle
satellite
would
enable
NURTSto
meetall its
challenges
with
significant
savings
of needs, geographies and customer
bases.
But network considerations
should not be based on simply
meeting today’s requirements. As
the demand for a wider range of
programming and content
localisation grows, new solutions
will be required. With that in mind,
Intelsat announced plans to deploy
the next‐generation Intelsat Epic
NG
satellite platform beginning in 2015.
Intelsat Epic
NG
is an innovative
approach to satellite architecture
utilising C‐, Ku‐ and Ka‐bands,
wide beams, spot beams and
frequency‐reuse technology to
achieve a major design break‐
through for increased throughput
and performance.
With the Intelsat Epic
NG
platform, customised channels may
be localised and distributed to a
specific region on a spot beam. Spot
beams and frequency reuse will
provide greater throughput and
drive lower cost per Mbit/s,
changing the economic model for
delivering localised content.
Working as an overlay to our
existing fleet, Intelsat Epic
NG
will
offer customers the freedom to
tailor content delivery and
advertising to serve as large or as
small an audience as needed.
Intelsat Epic
NG
also provides
transmission to cable headends, as
well as point‐to‐point routes, with
scalability and cost‐effective
contribution links for occasional‐
use video applications.
As the 2015 deadline set by the
ITU for the analogue switch‐off gets
closer, governmental and private
organisations are working together
on the transition from analogue to
digital television. It is a complex
process and a number of technical
challenges need to be assessed
before deciding on a strategy.
Satellite technology offers a
reliable, flexible and cost efficient
solution that ensures maximal
coverage and optimal content
delivery for broadcasters, while
providing viewers with the best
possible experience.
■
DELIVERY
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”
“
the same, no two DTT distribution
solutions are the same.
Consequently, there are several
factors that need to be considered
before deciding on the right
technical solution: ownership and
management, physical distribution
and the right frequency band for
the circumstances at hand.
First, the organisation charged
with deploying the distribution
network will need to understand
and manage the ownership of
spectral licences, the
responsibilities of the licence
holder, the timelines for
implementing digital distribution
and the shut‐off date for analogue
signal broadcast. Decisions must be
made with regard to how the
signals will be encrypted, how set‐
top‐boxes will be acquired and
delivered and whether they will be
subsidised.
Then there is the physical
distribution solution itself. Nations
that are small, densely populated
and flat are well‐suited for a
terrestrial‐only solution, in which
fibre or line‐of‐sight microwave
links deliver programming from a
central node to a network of
wireless towers for over‐the‐air
distribution. For larger nations with
dispersed populations, island
nations or nations with
mountainous terrain, a satellite‐
based solution, with its efficient
broadcast and ubiquitous coverage,
may be more optimal.
For example, following an in‐
depth review of all the possible
DTT deployment solutions,
Bulgarian operator NURTS
concluded that Intelsat 12 would
enable it to roll out a DTT solution
within the country with a high level
of quality, reliability and coverage –
even in the mountainous Balkan
terrain – and within the timeframe
set. A single satellite would enable
NURTS to meet all of its challenges,
while achieving significant savings
in cost and time compared to the
alternative of deploying a massive
terrestrial infrastructure.
Lastly, technical considerations
such as frequency must also be
taken into account when selecting a
satellite solution. Many countries
experience high rainfall, which
leads to rain fade issues if Ka‐ or
Ku‐band is used. C‐band is much
more resistant to rain fade and
may, in some cases, be a better
choice for DTT distribution.
CONSIDER THEAUDIENCE
Satellite‐based solutions provide
the greatest amount of flexibility
for delivery of DTT signals. Satellite
can be used as a means for
delivering content from
multiplexing centres to terrestrial
TV towers, which then retransmit
over‐the‐air signals into homes.
Another option is to deliver
programming via satellite directly
to individual homes via small DTH
terminals. Satellite has been a
critical part of the content delivery
chain for analogue distribution
around the globe, and it will
remain so with the transition to
digital. A hybrid approach, in
which satellites deliver signals to
terrestrial TV towers in densely
populated areas and directly to
individual homes in sparsely
populated regions, may be the most
cost‐effective solution.
Satellite operators such as
Intelsat carry TV and radio
channels on C‐band around the
globe. This means we can offer the
ability to create customised bundles
that best meet the needs of specific
regional populations as well as
provide a way to export broadcast
channels to viewers around the
globe, expanding the viewing
audience for a programmer’s
content.
CONSIDER THE FUTURE
Satellite distribution remains the
most reliable and effective means of
delivering broadcast content to
many users over a large area.
Intelsat, with its fleet of more than
50 satellites complemented by more
than 48,000 km of fibre network,
has the capability and experience to
create a DTT solution for a variety
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