SATCOM is a key enabler.
Advances in satellite communication is crucial for total global coverage of 5G and IoT interconnectivity. The Pentagon has turned to SATCOM for refinements in Link 16 for even greater situational awareness and safety as it applies to U.S. warfighters on the ground, in the air and at sea.
The demand in SATCOM for government and defense usage is constantly increasing — from a level of approximately 35Gbps in 2018 to an estimated 150Gbps by 2025.
SATCOM is crucial for the military, primarily because it provides beyond line of sight communications which can cover one-third of the earth or more on a single satellite.
Having SATCOM to get around distance and terrain issues is important. It’s also important for backhauling data to headquarters in the U.S. so that people in the Pentagon are seeing the same video that, say, a pilot is seeing in a helicopter or a pilot flying a UAV.
ViaSat has installed SATCOM on more than 300 military aircraft, including Boeing C-17 transports, Lockheed Martin C-130 transports and AC-130 gunships, and a number of command and control/intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, such as the Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft.
In the non-military world as well, Satellite communication touches our lives in ways most people don’t fully appreciate. From GPS to satellite TV to the communication networks that make modern economic and political affairs possible, there are few areas of life that the rise of SATCOM technology has not shaped in some way, directly or indirectly.
A VSAT terminal is used to provide satellite-based telecommunications and internet access to companies and individuals. For businesses, the primary advantage to setting up a VSAT network is that it allows the users to have their own private communications infrastructure that they have complete control over, as opposed to relying on existing infrastructure controlled by other parties.
Perhaps the most widely understood use of VSAT networks would be the service offered by satellite TV providers like DirecTV. Customers pay to have a terminal installed at their home and subscribe to the service to gain access to the network. But that’s just scratching the surface of what VSAT networks can do.
VSAT terminals are also used in narrowband financial applications like point-of-sale transactions, and broadband data like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and satellite internet.
Want to learn more? Tonex offers Military and Commercial Satellite Communications Training, a 5-day course that provides a full range of training options that include classroom training as well as optional hands-on operation of equipment and systems.
Additionally, Tonex offers over a dozen courses in Satellite Communications. You can see our courses here, such as:
Satellite Communications Design and Engineering Training (4 days)
Advanced SATCOM Training (3 days)
Cybersecurity and SATCOM Training (4 days)
Satellite Communications Training for non-engineers (4 days)
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.