Telecom Lead Asia: NBN Co has selected ViaSat Satellite
Internet System for a wholesale-only national broadband network, which will be
delivering high-speed Internet in Australia.
ViaSat will be providing Long Term Satellite Service
component of the project, including ground-based communications, network
management, and data processing systems.
“The rollout of Australia’s NBN is the most
comprehensive broadband plan in the world and we are excited to deliver part of
the satellite ground portion,” said Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of
ViaSat Inc.
Under the deal, ViaSat will be supplying consumer
satellite terminals, including broadband modems and antennas for Australian
homes and businesses, and 13.5-metre diameter Ka-band satellite antennas for
ten ground station gateway facilities across Australia.
Prior to this contract worth $240 million, NBN Co. and
ViaSat were working together under a two-year procurement process.
NB’s satellite system is scheduled to begin commercial
service in 2015 and target to approximately 200,000 premises outside the reach
of the NBN fiber optic and fixed wireless services, including outback areas and
Australia’s external territories such as Norfolk Island, Christmas Island,
Macquarie Island, and the Cocos Islands.
Under the contract, ViaSat system will be designed to
offer NBN Co’s retail service providers initial peak download speeds of 12 Mbps
at the wholesale level.
ViaSat offers Ka-band broadband systems that provide
advanced network infrastructure and cost-effective customer premises terminals
for the largest broadband satellites in North America, Europe, parts of Africa,
the Middle East, Asia, and now Australia.
Selex Elsag selects ViaSat to provide X-band antennas
Recently, Selex Elsag selected ViaSat to provide X-band
antennas and the MD-1366 Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) to expand
NATO static ground satellite communications in Belgium and Italy, and upgrade
services in Greece and Turkey.
