Transtelecom, a government-owned telco established to meet the railway's communications needs, selected Gilat as the satellite equipment provider for this pioneering deployment. ASTEL, a leading service provider in Kazakhstan and long-standing customer of Gilat, managed the equipment installation.
Gilat's VSAT platform was installed on the Tulpar, the railway's fastest train, serving the popular 1,300 km route between Almaty and the capital city of Astana. The first train providing service was completed successfully in the beginning of August. Using an auto-pointing satellite terminal installed on the roof of the train, the VSAT solution provides toll-quality VoIP telephony service and data transmission speeds of up to 2 Mbps.
Passengers onboard the Tulpar use the free broadband Internet service for email, fast web searches, streaming video content, e-commerce and other convenient applications that provide entertainment and help increase productivity during their trip. Transtelecom plans deployment of the satellite Internet service on additional trains.
Gilat's broadband satellite communications networks have been serving the Kazakhstan market since 1998, contributing to improving the quality of life for citizens in the country's most remote regions.
"The new broadband satellite Internet service is successfully meeting the connectivity needs of our country's mobile workforce, tourists and other travelers," said President of Transtelecom Mr. Mirbolat Ayupov. "Gilat's local team of experienced professionals delivered the dedicated support required to make this service an immediate success, thus helping to increase the value of the traveling experience for our passengers."
"The successful operation of this network demonstrates the flexibility of our VSAT technology," said Arie Rozichner, Gilat's Regional Vice President, Eurasia. "We look forward to serving Transtelecom, and other national railways, with additional deployments in the future that will increase the appeal of rail travel."
Gilat's SkyEdge and SkyEdge II multi-service platforms enable the delivery of high-quality voice, broadband data and video services for different environments including enterprises, rural networks, cellular backhaul and government network applications. Gilat's diverse portfolio of VSATs offer service providers the most suitable product for their application needs as well as the flexibility to evolve their networks. The newest addition to Gilat's SkyEdge II portfolio is NetEdge(tm), a dedicated solution for multi star networks, specifically designed to meet the needs of corporate networks and cellular backhaul applications.