During IBC2017, Cobham SATCOM (stand 5.A18) that an Inmarsat Global Xpress (GX) variant of the firm's state-of-the-art EXPLORER 8100 Stabilized, Auto-Acquire, Drive-Away Antenna System will be available for broadcast users before the end of this year.
Developed completely in-house by Cobham SATCOM, the one meter EXPLORER 8100 Auto-Acquire Drive-Away antenna is designed to ensure high quality connectivity on any Ku- and Ka-band network.
The new EXPLORER 8100GX expands Cobham SATCOM’s EXPLORER 8000 series, which already includes 1 and 1.2 meter antennas for global Ku-band satellite services and Eutelsat’s Ka-band NewsSpotter solution.
Currently undergoing Inmarsat Type Approval testing, EXPLORER 8100GX features unique Dynamic Pointing Correction technology, which enables a high degree of pointing accuracy. It can adjust in milliseconds to compensate for the vehicle it is installed on rocking on its suspension, giving broadcasters the ability to transmit live, high definition multimedia without interruption from anywhere in the world and in almost any weather conditions.
The system ensures a stable link to the Global Xpress network in winds up to 112 km/h or when people enter and exit the vehicle. The unique stabilization technology is even more important on the HTS Ka-band frequencies used by Global Xpress, which require better pointing accuracy than Ku-band services to maintain a stable, high-bandwidth link to the satellite.
EXPLORER 8000 antennas offer unparalleled Comms-On-The-Pause performance, ensuring high-quality connectivity that is available even when other antennas would have lost their connection to the satellite. In the field, the EXPLORER 8000 series delivers availability of vital communications whatever the conditions, supported further by industry-leading fast satellite acquisition with initial pointing achieved in less than four minutes, making getting connected to a satellite a quick and easy process.
Henrik Nørrelykke, VP Global Sales and Marketing, Land Mobile, Cobham SATCOM stated that the company already offers leading EXPLORER Fly-Away terminals for Inmarsat Global Xpress, and the introduction of EXPLORER 8100GX is the natural next step to expand the company's offering. With the technology already proven in the field, EXPLORER 8100GX offers the same unique Dynamic Pointing Correction provided by Cobham SATCOM's other EXPLORER 8000 Drive-Away antennas, so journalists and production teams can be confident of the availability of a high bandwidth link to GX even when stepping in and out of the vehicle or in windy conditions.
