Satellite Multimedia Services

This pilot project aims to provide residential customers with access to broadband multimedia applications (e.g. video conferencing, Internet access, realtime video) via satellite and the terrestrial infrastructure of a telecom operator. The satellite network will be used as backbone network accross which a connection to a high-performance Internet server will be established. A "local network interconnection via satellite system" gateway at a local exchange of the telecom operator serves as the connecting point to the fully meshed network of the telecom operator. Using suitable access technologies, a residential user will have the possibility to run IP-based multimedia applications. Measurements of throughput, delay and quality of service will be taken for different applications. Based on these results, improvements of the used transmission protocols, software and hardware shall be undertaken. The aim of this project is to demonstrate the interconnection of satellite-based and terrestrial broadband infrastructure in order to be able to offer broadband services in areas with insufficient terrestrial communications infrastructure.