Leading global VSAT systems providers, including Gilat, ViaSat, and EMS, among others, have selected SkyStream's Source Media Router (SMR) products for enterprise and consumer applications such as business television services, IP telephony and Internet access in remote areas.

According to analyst predictions, the VSAT market is experiencing steady growth in both the SME and consumer broadband segments.

"We are convinced SMEs will comprise a rapidly growing market opportunity and segment for two-way broadband VSATs. Most every VSAT service provider is looking to this market segment as both a source of expanding revenues and as an enabling step in the migration towards the even larger consumer market," said Christopher Baugh, president of Northern Sky Research, in a January 2004 report on the SME market.

"Also, we expect to see consumer and SOHO broadband services come on strongly in each region after 2006, with revenues reaching $505.3 million."

SkyStream customers are leading the expansion of the VSAT market. Gilat Satellite Network's newest family of VSAT products, SkyEdge, uses SkyStream's SMR. SkyEdge is a comprehensive satellite communications platform that delivers voice, data and video services over a single system.

"With our all-in-one VSAT system, our customers can enter new markets and create new business opportunities," said Yossi Gal, Vice President Research and Development, Gilat Satellite Networks.

"It doesn't matter if a satellite network operator wants to use the system for interactive data, broadband IP, telephony or trunking applications, we deliver a SkyEdge VSAT system for any need."

EMS Satellite Networks, a division of EMS Technologies Inc., uses SkyStream's SMR in its latest VSAT offering, a two-way VSAT service enabling Internet communications via satellite. Based on the DVB-RCS standard channel return, EMS' satellite solutions help customers deploy interactive broadband IP and multicasting applications.

"The DVB-RCS standard for return channel opens up high-speed Internet and satellite communications to people in under-served areas," said Stephane Germain, Vice president of Sales and Marketing at EMS.

"By using open standards, instead of proprietary technology, service providers can now afford to give satellite broadband access to every customer."

ViaSat is currently using SkyStream's SMR for its eMexico initiative, among other projects. The program aims to install and connect 10,000 "Digital Community Centers" with ViaSat's LinkStar Broadband VSATs.

The community centers will provide the Mexican population with electronic services for distance learning, Internet access, government, health, and commerce. In the first six months of the project, eMexico has installed more than 3,500 VSATs.

"Our VSAT deployment in Mexico is one of our most complex because of the large number of sites that we touch," said Chris Leber, vice president and general manager of ViaSat Networks, ViaSat.

"For a successful deployment, we needed the product that could handle the highest number of remote terminals."

"The VSAT market is growing rapidly, and these new services from satellite service providers and enterprises are a lifesaver to people around the world in underserved communications areas who crave high-speed Internet access, IP telephony and other critical communications previously unavailable to them," said Jim Olson, president and CEO, SkyStream Networks.

"SkyStream technology has become the industry standard for VSAT applications through its innovations for satellite customers who are expanding the boundaries of what satellite technology can do for businesses and consumers."

SkyStream's SMR meets the needs of global VSAT providers by routing the distribution of IP data to an unlimited number of remote terminals over any network.

The Source Media Router, based on open DVB standards, is essentially a one-box solution that transports IP packets and other critical timing and table information encapsulated into an MPEG-2 transport stream from the satellite network's hub.

The SMR series provides IP encapsulation and patented bandwidth optimization capabilities and delivers up to 160Mbps of throughput capacity, providing users the flexibility to support increasingly higher data rates.

Also, SkyStream SMRs provide DVB CAS (conditional access) scrambling to protect data from piracy during delivery and ensures optimum use of bandwidth through a patented bandwidth-harvesting technique called Null Packet Optimization (NPO).

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