Telesat Phase 1 LEO satellite. Photo: Surrey Satellite Technology

ST Engineering iDirect on Tuesday revealed the successful test of its Multi-Frequency Time Division Multiple Access (MF-TDMA) return link on the Telesat Phase-1 Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite. The testing demonstrated dynamic bandwidth sharing among multiple terminals within a LEO constellation.

The testing was done at Telesat’s Allan Park facility, using ST Engineering iDirect’s Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) platform networked across multiple satellite modems. To test the link, the team conducted a video conference with engineers at Allan Park. They reported seamless connectivity, and low jitter and low packet loss. The guard times achieved were comparable to guard times used on Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellite links, without compromising capacity or spectral efficiency.

Earlier this year in June, Telefónica successfully completed a test with Telesat, showing that Telesat LEO could be a viable option for wireless backhaul.

“This is a significant success for the ST Engineering iDirect and Telesat teams,” said Bart Van Poucke, vice president of product management at ST Engineering iDirect. “We have achieved the benefits of MF-TDMA efficiency whilst unlocking the low latency offered by LEO satellites. This demonstration confirms the wide addressable market for LEO and particularly for applications that require mission-critical communications. We are proud to have been part of these tests and thank Telesat for the opportunity.”