Vizada has developed a mobile satellite service to enable reporters with MediaCorp, Singapore’s leading media company, to perform high-quality live broadcasting from remote areas. Vizada’s offering comprises a portable Inmarsat BGAN terminal, which enables a broadband data connection anywhere in the world. Vizada has also built a reliable data communications channel between its point of presence (PoP) in Hong Kong and MediaCorp’s headquarters in Singapore. This dedicated line enables reliable, broadcast-quality sound and image to be delivered from the Inmarsat BGAN terminal directly to the news room for live transmission.

A reporter for Channel NewsAsia, MediaCorp’s Asian TV news channel viewed in more than 20 territories across Asia, recently used the service in Indonesia to report on the earthquake that struck the island of Java — “We gave the terminal to one of our reporters to film live from a remote area in Java and the results were very satisfactory,” said Ernest Loh Meng Fatt, Assistant Technical Operations Manager with MediaCorp. “Vizada’s dedicated network provides a stable connection and reliable, high-quality broadcast footage. This was not the case before.”

Vizada’s mobile satellite offering replaces a fixed satellite system which provided relatively low data speeds, insufficient for broadcast-quality audio and video. In addition, it was difficult to move from place to place, preventing reporters from filming live as events unfolded. During the development phase, Vizada worked closely with Kemlinks, a Singapore-based service provider, as well as Livewire, a provider of data, voice and video services to media companies, to ensure that the service closely matched MediaCorp’s requirements.