Globecomm
Systems, a global provider of communications solutions and services, announced
that the company has recently completed the transition and expansion of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather
Service (NWS) Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) Satellite
Broadcast Network (SBN) to Digital Video Broadcast – Satellite – Second
Generation (DVB-S2) under a subcontract to Raytheon Company.

 

The
SBN is a one-way, point-to-multipoint satellite broadcast system that
distributes large amounts of data collected and produced at NOAA’s national
centers to Weather Forecast Offices (WFO’s) used by forecasters to generate
watches, alerts and warnings of various types of severe weather in a timely
manner.

 

To
transition the network, Globecommupgraded the primary and backup
Master Ground Stations (MGS) with Newtec IP Satellite Modulators and
CCM/VCM/ACM Shaper and Encapsulators. Globecomm also deployed 300 Novra DVB-S2
IP receivers to WFOs.

 

The
DVB-S2 technology
deployed supports Variable Coding Modulation (VCM), which will allow NWS to
disseminate other types of weather products with different service levels. In
addition, the SBN was expanded to support up to 30 Mbps of data. This upgrade
will improve network efficiency and performance.

 

The
National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather, hydrologic, and climate
forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters
and ocean areas, for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of
the national economy. NWS data and products form a national information
database and infrastructure which can be used by other governmental agencies,
the private sector, the public, and the global community.

 

Globecomm
takes great pride in having served Raytheon and the National Weather service
over the past 6 years providing robust satellite-based data dissemination for
such a mission-critical task. This upgrade not only provides the NWS with the
additional capacity required to deliver more weather data and imagery, it also
allows the NWS to consolidate their weather dissemination systems,” said Alan
Henderson,vice president of Engineering, Globecomm.