Satcom Global enhances Aura VSAT coverage

Satcom Global has strengthened the Aura VSAT network with the addition of two new High Throughput Satellites

Satcom Global enhances Aura VSAT coverage
Photo: Satcom Global

Satcom Global has announced that its flagship Aura VSAT service boasts enhanced coverage through new High Throughput Satellites (HTS) and beam enhancements, offering superior connectivity to maritime users in popular trading routes, fishing waters and leisure hotspots in the Americas and Asia.

Satcom Global has strengthened the Aura VSAT network with the addition of two new High Throughput Satellites, SES-14 HTS and SES-15 HTS, delivering a boost in coverage and service quality for Aura users operating around Latin America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, North America and the North Atlantic, including Hawaii.

In addition to the latest HTS joining the Aura network, new spot beams have been illuminated on SES’s newest satellite, SES-12 HTS, to increase capacity for vessels sailing in popular shipping routes around the South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand and waters around Papua New Guinea. Endorsed by some of the biggest names in shipping, the growing Aura network continues to evolve, supporting the developing needs of a wide variety of maritime customers.

Planning for the addition of HTS from its inception, Satcom Global completed a successful upgrade of Aura to iDirect’s Velocity platform last year, enabling the seamless integration of these recent HTS coverage enhancements into the network, bringing higher capacity per vessel and improved satellite network management.

The platform also supports Satcom Global’s commitment to flexibility and adaptability, enabling the satellite communications provider to deploy managed HTS and multi-spot beam architectures, consisting of increasingly more beams, frequencies and throughput. The scalable, cutting edge platform provides enhanced network support and control functionality, capable of supporting the growing connectivity needs of customers long into the future.

The all-electric satellites SES-14 HTS and SES-15 HTS were launched from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. SES-14 HTS was manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space and is now positioned at 47.5 degrees West. SES-15 HTS, manufactured by Boeing Satellite Systems, comprises Ku-band wide beams and Ku-band High Throughput Satellite (HTS) capability, and took six months to reach its orbital position at 129 degrees West orbital and complete testing.

SES-12 HTS, launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida by Space X, was added to the Aura network in March 2019, located at 95 degrees East, and now offers new spot beams which became available to Aura users in early 2020.