[SatNews] VT iDirect, Inc. (iDirect), a company of VT Systems, Inc. (VT Systems), has announced that Sky-Stream FZ LLC, a Dubai-based provider of connectivity and satellite service solutions, has launched a satellite IP-TV streaming service over the iDirect platform. The recreational service, which uses the Apple TV platform, allows customers in the Middle East and Africa to immediately access on-demand programs in remote locations where such services are not accessible. Sky-Stream’s IP-TV service provides on-demand, high-quality streaming for movies as well as news and sports shows offered through Apple TV. The new offering is an expansion of Sky-Stream’s standard Voice over IP (VoIP) and Internet service that it provides to military and civil defense customers in Iraq, Afghanistan and parts of Africa. With the launch of its recreational service, Sky-Stream hopes to acquire new customers in the maritime and oil and gas sectors in the Middle East. These customers will be able to access the service from any location, no matter how isolated. The new service is powered by iDirect’s satellite platform, providing built-in TCP acceleration on an IP-based system that allows Sky-Stream to offer high download speeds to customers for immediate access to the programs they want. During development, Sky-Stream tested other satellite platforms and found average download times to be unacceptably slow — taking customers over an hour to download a full-length movie. With iDirect’s TDMA platform, Sky-Stream is able to overcome latency and other link reliability issues to reduce typical movie download times to as few as five minutes.

iDirect has also made it known that Network Satellite Technology Trading (NSTT), a provider of communication networking technology services, has launched a new VSAT service based on iDirect’s Evolution platform covering Africa and the Middle East. The provider has purchased several iDirect Universal 5IF satellite hubs, along with Evolution X3 and X5 remote routers, so it can provide a wide coverage area to customers in the region. NSTT will also be running iDirect’s latest Evolution software release, iDX 2.2, enabling it to maximize the efficiency and flexibility of its new VSAT service. NSTT’s Evolution service will deliver high-speed broadband over satellite to support a variety of customer applications including Internet, Voice over IP (VoIP) and VPN. The service will be offered over Ku- and C-band across several satellites in Africa and the Middle East, expanding NSTT’s existing coverage in these regions as well as in Asia. By expanding its services, NSTT can meet the growing demands of existing customers including telecom providers, broadcasters, financial institutions, oil and gas companies, governmental organizations, and military agencies.

Additionally announced by the Company is that ICCES, a two-way data communications provider, systems integrator and solutions provider based in the Middle East, has expanded its VSAT coverage over Africa and parts of the Middle East. The provider has also purchased several iDirect satellite hubs and remote routers, and plans to offer dual-mode operation of Evolution and iNFINITI software depending on its customers’ needs. With the expanded coverage, ICCES will support government, private enterprise and home users in these regions. By adding Evolution to its existing iNFINITI-based iDirect infrastructure, ICCES can maximize the efficiency of its space segment and expand its satellite coverage to support new customers. The company is seeing increased demand for VSAT connectivity in developing areas for a variety of needs ranging from core communications to more advanced enterprise applications. These include basic Internet access, Virtual Private Network (VPN) connectivity between branches of large corporations and Voice-over-IP (VoIP). By increasing its C-band satellite capacity over Libya, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, ICCES plans to target resellers, enterprises, governments and home users. Based on the next-generation DVB-S2 standard with Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM), Evolution enables ICCES to scale capacity affordably to grow its customer base, while continuing to provide a highly reliable service that customers require. ICCES can intuitively and efficiently allocate bandwidth by customer and even by application type using iDirect’s built-in Group Quality of Service (GQoS) technology. The provider can also protect customer links from degrading during adverse weather thanks to ACM, which automatically adjusts signal strength to avoid rain fade.