SES Americom unveiled a high-definition service intended to provide a bandwidth home to customers using IP-based connectivity platforms for providing voice and data communication to satellite newsgathering (SNG) trucks, the company announced April 10.
The service, delivered via the AMC-5 satellite at 79° West and the AMC-6 satellite at 72° West, includes the SkySwitch IP platform, which features ND SatCom’s SkyWAN and iDirect’s 7000 series satellite router-based service.
“The launch of SES Americom’s HD SNG neighborhood coincides with our increasing capital investment in additional HD equipment and new HD SNG units through 2007,” Paul Edwards, vice president of transportables/production services for Crawford Communications, said in a statement. “SES Americom’s market vision is HD clear and allows us to respond to the rapidly increasing demand for HD production and distribution services with the most advanced satellites and SNG solutions in the industry.”
SES Americom plans to expand the neighborhood when the AMC-21 satellite is placed at 125° West in the 2008 second quarter.