Sat3play has been conceived to deliver Internet access, Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony and video and audio services to residential market. Sat3Play is the result of the merge of 2 Way-Sat solution- a DVB-RCS based system for the business market - and iSatTV, an interactive television system based on the SATMODE standard.
A satellite modem called the "Sat3Play access box" is provided to end users and is connected over Ethernet cable with broadband home network components such as a home computer.
SES ASTRA, an SES company, has adopted this technology to offer ASTRA2Connect, a fully satellite-based solution for broadband access that delivers dual- and triple-play services via wholesalers and internet service providers to the residential market. SES ASTRA has recently signed contracts to roll-out this service in France and Italy. It has also closed distribution agreements with Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and Poland. SES ASTRA has started the large-scale production of ASTRA2Connect consumer terminals through a new production agreement with Newtec.
In its most basic configuration, the Sat3Play system provides the means to establish an "always-on" two-way connectivity between the end-user and the Internet or a private network, therefore remaining completely independent from any existing terrestrial networks. The outdoor equipment of the end-user terminal consists of an interactive Low Noise Block converter (iLNB) mounted on the antenna. The iLNB is the integration of a standard LNB and a low-power, small-size transmitter. Indoors, a small-size Sat3Play receiver, called the S3P acces box connects to the end-user PC via a standard Ethernet port and to the outdoor satellite antenna via standard coaxial cables.
"The Sat3Play system is the proof that a satellite solution is indeed viable for providing broadband access to the residential market," explains Domenico Mignolo, senior systems engineer with ESA Telecom. "ESA has played a key role in not only funding the research and developments, but also demonstrating the maturity of the technology so enabling its commercial exploitation with potential customers as well."
The Sat3Play terminal is also designed to support Voice over IP telephony, and can be used in conjunction with a standard DVB-S set-top box to receive radio, television and interactive television signals so offering triple play service. When the Sat3Play terminal is equipped with an additional standard LNB, the television signal can be received from another adjacent satellite. At the Sat3Play uplink site, the hub provides all the necessary infrastructure to receive and transmit IP data from and to the terminals, managing the overall satellite network.
"This award recognises the success of Sat3Play and positions Newtec as a company, working to shape the future of satellite communications," said Serge Van Herck, CEO at Newtec. "We are incredibly proud of the strong emphasis placed on research and development here at Newtec and these strengths are no more evident than in the development of Sat3Play."
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