PRINCETON, NJ, April 11, 2007 - Satnews Daily - SES Americom has launched its first High Definition (HD) Satellite News Gathering (SNG) service. The new HD SNG neighborhood is delivered over the AMC-5 and AMC-6 satellites and offers a bandwidth home for industry innovators enhanced by IP-based connectivity platforms for voice and data communication to the SNG truck.
The HD SNG neighborhood includes the SkySwitch IP platform, which features both ND SatCom's SkyWAN and iDirect's 7000 series satellite router-based service that deliver IP to the SNG truck. This enables remote telephone calling capabilities, Internet access and consistent communication with the broadcaster's home-based LAN and studio.
AMC-5 is an all Ku-band satellite located at 79 degrees west longitude. AMC-5 serves the SNG, occasional services, VSAT, business television and broadband Internet markets.
AMC-6 is a hybrid C/Ku-band satellite located at 72 degrees west longitude that provides high-powered service to occasional video/SNG, government, VSAT network and entertainment customers. AMC-6 has also attracted Internet service integration platforms, which take advantage of the satellite's wide coverage and high levels of redundancy.
SES Americom said SkySwitch IP represents a low-cost alternative to dedicated bandwidth, complete with the security and flexibility that are so critical in the SNG industry. Neighborhood expansion is already proceeding aboard the AMC-21 satellite, which is scheduled for launch in the second quarter of 2008.
AMC-21 is a planned all Ku-band satellite, which is being built by Alcatel Alenia Space incorporating the Orbital Sciences Star-2 satellite bus. Scheduled to initiate service by mid 2008 from the 125 degrees W.L. orbital position, AMC-21 will provide 50-state coverage, as well as coverage over the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.
"SES Americom's HD SNG neighborhood is designed for today's news and events coverage leaders, complete with the SkySwitch IP communications platform capable of turning an SNG truck into a rolling news bureau or production facility," said Bryan McGuirk, president of media and enterprise services for SES Americom. "We've got the high-powered satellites, reliable bandwidth, the universal truck connectivity, and the experience and know-how to meet the needs of any broadcaster, anywhere."
"The launch of SES Americom's HD SNG neighborhood coincides with our increasing capital investment in additional HD equipment and new HD SNG units through 2007," said Paul Edwards, vice president of transportables/production services for Crawford Communications, a full-service video production and distribution services provider that has worked with SES Americom for years. "SES Americom's market vision is HD clear and allows us to respond to the rapidly increasing demand for HD production and distribution services with the most advanced satellites and SNG solutions in the industry."
ND SatCom is a global supplier of satellite-based broadband VSAT, broadcast and defence communication network and ground station solutions. ND SatCom's technologies are deployed in broadcast and media, enterprise, telecom, government and defense environments worldwide.
iDirect Technologies, a subsidiary of VT Systems Inc, designs, develops, and markets satellite-based broadband access solutions targeted at the enterprise, government, carrier and educational sectors that have the need for fast, flexible, and geographically dispersed two-way Internet/Intranet access., and covering Latin America.
SES Americom, an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges: SESG), operates a fleet of 15 spacecraft in orbital positions predominantly providing service throughout the Americas. As a member of the SES family, SES Americom is able to provide end-to-end telecommunications solutions to any region of the world via a fleet of 36 satellites.
