With the growing prominence of High Throughput Satellite (HTS) platforms and the advent of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations, the satellite industry as a whole is facing a complex set of challenges. Everyone is trying to find synergies between this latest evolution of the payload and their current technologies so they can exploit the increased performance it can offer. An important factor to remember with this innovation in space is that it must be matched on the ground. If the ground segment doesn’t keep pace with the fast-moving HTS and LEO technologies, we as an industry will never realize their full potential impact. Most of these new innovations are disruptive in some way, meaning that this must be reflected in the ground segment technology if the premium services they enable are to be delivered. With so many different technologies in the marketplace, operators and service providers need their ground segments to have this synergy with each of them to ensure that they aren’t the weak link in the chain.

The satellites of the future are going to demand a lot from the ground equipment that is used to support them and this is something that has been at the forefront of Newtec’s work for some time. Satellites in different orbits, with varying payloads have different demands so flexibility, agility and dynamism are essential in order to meet these different requirements.

Newtec has been watching developments in LEO satellite technology very closely. It is critical that our modem portfolio, combined with next-generation on-board technologies, is ideally suited to bring maximum efficiency and throughput.

Newtec’s multiservice Newtec Dialog platform has performed successful over-the-air tests on Telesat’s inaugural Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite. Launched in January 2018, the tests on the Ka-band payload is ongoing, and Newtec’s technology is being used to demonstrate different service scenarios. The tests have demonstrated that Newtec’s equipment works seamlessly with LEO satellites and that Newtec’s technology is already able to deliver next generation connectivity today.