Telesat intensifies satellite multimedia applications research and development

The terrestrial Internet is a sub-standard mechanism for delivering audio and video signals compared to space-based transmissions, according to an executive with Canada’s sole satellite company. Paul Bush, Telesat Canada’s VP of corporate development, told Canadian NEW MEDIA that the single-hop architecture of satellite relays makes it a superior system compared to land-based networks. To exploit that advantage, the company recently announced that it would spend $5.5 million on high-speed multimedia trials that will accelerate development of applications and content. The funding commitment is part of a larger R&D program worth over $15 million this year. Telesat says it has already spent tens of millions of dollars over the past five years on advanced R&D into satellite-based applications. Bush says development work in the areas of SOHO connectivity, tele-health and e-learning will help dispel the perception that the Internet doesn’t work when it’s routed over a satellite network, or that it’s inconsistent. "(Telesat) is really not just a satellite shop, anymore," he says, adding that technology problems account for about only 20 per cent of the equation in finding new applications. The new funding for its advanced R&D facility in Ottawa, he says, will ensure that it continues to overcome non-technical hurdles as well as challenges related to hardware and software. For example, he says, research into tele-health applications revealed that one of the less obvious problems was billing – how doctors could charge for time spent in remote consultations. Much of the new funding, however, will be used to fund research into new, low-cost ground hubs which could bring Internet connectivity into remote and other communities. The company plans to put ground hubs into 40 sites across the country to serve schools and businesses, but that a community hub currently costs around $60-70,000. He says the company’s goal is to prove the viability of hubs costing as little as $5,000 capable of 10 Mb in/2 Mb out bandwidth. "If you’re going to have a successful satellite system, you need a successful ground system," he says. He’s hopeful the goal can be met. "It’s not a question of technology. It’s a question of money and will." The work is designed to help remote communities not well served by Canada’s terrestrial networks. Connectivity, he says, is no longer a nice-to-have option for cities and villages in under-served regions, but necessary to their survival. In that vein, he says the National Broadband Task Force which reports next month to Industry Canada, will likely give satellite greater play than some technologies, possibly to the surprise of many task force members who may have minimized the technology’s role going into discussions. Telesat president and CEO Larry Boisvert sat on the task force. Internet won’t replace satellite for TV broadcast Beside new applications for health and learning, as well as electronic government and justice, Bush says the company has also shifted focus recently on the broadcast side. While much of the recent work in television was focused on fitting more signals on fewer transponders to bring down the cost of channels (which he credits for the slew of new digital specialty stations), more recent work has focused on creating better quality images which carry more information for ITV and HDTV. He says satellite, not the Internet, is the best platform for new broadcast applications. "The Internet is the worst way to deliver audio and video signals," he says, citing the one-hop point-to-multipoint capabilities of space-based routing. He says content creators should be aware of the possibilities of consistent, high-bandwidth satellite transmission when thinking of different mediums for new applications.

Telesat intensifies satellite multimedia applications research and development

Broadcast | May 31, 2001

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