Global satellite bandwidth provider SES Government Solutions (SES GS) unveiled a comprehensive communications solution for field-deployed units during a demonstration for U.S. Government customers last month.

According to SES GS, whose headquarters are in Luxembourg, by combining satellite service provider O3b’s satellite broadband connectivity, and wireless technology developer RIVA Network’s field deployable 4G nanoLTE solution, the SES solution delivers real-time High Definition (HD) video feeds and image files stored in the Cloud to individual members of remote field teams. The same link also allows those deployed teams to collect and send raw sensor and video data back to off-site data analysis and command centres.

“The U.S. Government can now integrate smartphones into remote field operations and create a mobile workforce without facing any delays in communication and with full connectivity all the way back to U.S.-based analysts and decision-makers,” said President and CEO of SES GS Pete Hoene. “We are proud to be poised and ready to support a global, mobile network for our customers with this capability.”

During the demonstration, U.S. Government customers were able to use mobile phones and tablets outside of Wi-Fi range and transport real-time video through the LTE bubble and instantly stream the footage over O3b satellites back to a cloud server located in Ashburn, Virginia. This setup allows for high bandwidth and broadband IP communications which include standard and HD video, ultra HD video, voice and teleconferencing.

The technology is reportedly compatible with any smartphone and paves the way for an increased use of mobile devices for military operations. In essence each soldier, sailor, airman and marine can be a sensor providing vital information to deployed units through the O3b system.

The RIVA Network addition to this demonstration provided a sphere of connectivity scalable with multiple nanoLTE nodes, with ranges up to 22 miles, depending on the exact network configuration. All RIVA components for this particular demonstration are said to be easily transportable.

The demonstration was attended by over 50 U.S. Government guests and is the third consecutive demonstration of SES GS applications leveraging O3b’s high throughput and low latency capabilities.

 

Photo by SES