[Avionics Magazine 11-7-2016] Panasonic Avionics Corp., in collaboration with satellite communications technology manufacturer Newtec, has unveiled a new, high bandwidth satellite modem, which it claims will offer Panasonic customers “20 times the bandwidth of Panasonic’s current solution.” Versions of the new modem will be available across Panasonic’s mobility markets including air transport, business aviation, maritime, cruise ships, mega yachts, and river cruises.
From left to right: Paul Margis, Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Avionics Corporation and Serge Van Herck, Newtec Board of Directors. Photo: Panasonic Avionics Corp.
Developed in partnership with Newtec, the new modem is capable of exceeding 400 Megabits per second (Mbps), and it can scale to meet the evolving needs of airlines and their passengers by facilitating the increasing bandwidth coming on stream over the next two years as High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) and Extreme-Throughput Satellite (XTSTM) services continue to be layered over Panasonic’s existing global network. This will expand network capacity from 2,300 MHz today to 15,000+ MHz by 2017.
The next-generation modem includes three demodulators for seamless beam switching and simultaneous data and video reception. With support for DVB-S2X, the latest satellite communications transmission standard, and VL-SNR MODCODS (Very Low Signal to Noise Ratio Modulation and Coding), the modem is optimized for HTS and small VSAT antenna applications, maximizing efficiency and availability.
“Newtec’s broadband modem, which is based on the innovative DVB-S2X standard and customized to our requirements, allows us to access much larger blocks of frequency and better support high bandwidth platforms across all of our vertical markets,” said Paul Margis, CEO of Panasonic Avionics Corp.