In the first ever Via Satellite Excellence Awards 2013, the Technology Company of the Year was the most fiercely contested award. This year the competition promises to be equally as intense. Here, we take a look at some of the runners and riders for this most coveted award.

When we launched the Via Satellite Excellence Awards in 2013, the response from the industry was overwhelming with companies entering across the board. It was also the first time that Via Satellite expanded its awards program beyond the Satellite Executive of the Year, the most coveted individual award in the industry. The Technology Company of the Year is already becoming a blue-chip award and with many companies showcasing impressive new technologies in 2014, choosing a winner is likely to cause a headache to the judges (yes, that includes me). These are the nominees; the winner will be honored on March 19 at the Via Satellite 2014 Excellence Awards Breakfast at SATELLITE 2015.

Advantech Wireless

In the year to the end of April 30, 2014, Advantech Wireless had increased revenues by more than 20 percent. The company is bringing a lot of key new technology to market, which aims to reduce the capital expenditure and operating expenditure requirements of satellite operators. Perhaps its biggest new showcase technology in 2014 is around its Adaptive Satellite Access Technology (A-SAT) solution. According to Advantech, this technology provides bandwidth savings of 30 percent or more depending on the traffic being carried. It believes savings are comparable to going from DVB-S to DVB-S2.

This year, the company also announced the launch of its new SapphireBlu 3000W Ku-Band Hubmount UltraLinear Modular SSPA/SSPB delivering high power density, high linear power, which it believes again equates to huge savings for operators; its SapphireBlu Series 6.6kW C-Band UltraLinear GaN SSPA and 3000W Ku-Band Hubmount UltraLinear GaN Modular SSPAs/BUCs; the 10kW S-Band GaN based Solid State Pulse Amplifier; and the 2300-G Series 60W to 125W Ku-Band GaN Technology Based SSPA/BUC designed to withstand extreme temperature range for airborne in-flight entertainment systems. Its attempt to crack the In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) market promises to be a real test for the Advantech, which has excelled in the amplifier market in recent times.

With improving revenues and profits and an impressive stable of products, the company is clearly on the up, becoming one of the key technology companies to watch in our sector.

Mark Holmes is the editorial director for Via Satellite magazine and Avionics Magazine.Technology Company of the Year: The Runners and RidersIn the first ever Via Satellite Excellence Awards 2013, the Technology Company of the Year was the most fiercely contested award. This year the competition promises to be equally as intense. Here, we take a look at some of the runners and riders for this most coveted award.by Mark HolmesGait vero odiam velesti onsequi psumsan volor ilit adigna feui bla feugait praessi sseniat, suscilisim iriure consequisl dolorem zzrit praessi tem incilis adiate dolInvenia voloria quae nectaquia sume nem dolupta tempelitin nobitat.Borumquid magnitat. Technology Company of the Year:

CPI

The amplifier market sees some of the fiercest competition, as well as some of the most innovative products around, as companies try and cater for next generation operator needs. CPI had a strong 2014 launching a single 750 W Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier (TWTA) package, which includes touchscreen, scopescreen, fault logs, Ethernet, SNMP capability, and CAN-Bus architecture. This amplifier comes with new LifeExtender technology, which CPI trumpets as a key breakthrough for the company. This was perhaps the technology highlight for the company in 2014.

CPI claims this LifeExtender technology can significantly extend TWT life up to 50 percent, and provide the latest in touchscreen technology. As with other recent product lines, its latest TouchPower HPAs are of CAN-Bus design improves noise immunity and maintainability and operate at significantly lower internal operating temperatures, thereby enhancing product reliability and life. CPI says the launch of this technology is “a shot in the arm” for TWT amplifiers. The LifeExtender Technology uses a patented method to maximize the life of the TWT cathode, thereby significantly extending the life of the tube itself. In many cases the resulting TWT life may be as long as the operational life cycle of the amplifier itself. CPI believes the days where a TWT had to be replaced every four to five years are essentially “a thing of the past.”

Glowlink

The satellite industry faces many battles on the technology front, but one of the most important is countering satellite interference, which continues to be a hot topic throughout the industry. A company like Glowlink is right at the center of this issue, aiming to deliver new technology to tackle interference. Glowlink’s products span carrier and spectrum monitoring, interference detection and geolocation, satellite capacity planning, and VSAT network alignment and commissioning.

The company had a busy 2014. The main technology highlight was the rollout of its Communications Signal Interference Removal (CSIR) technology, which Glowlink believes could one of the most significant technologies it has ever released. It earned the “stamp of approval” by both commercial and U.S. Government customers, as well as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the form of multiple patents all granted in 2014. Additionally, the technology has a number of international patents pending in countries around the globe. Glowlink claims this CSIR technology can remove virtually any interference from digitally modulated carrier traffic. The U.S. Government has invested in CSIR, and is currently evaluating it for application on a number of missions, which would be a huge validation for Glowlink and this technology.

Glowlink is incredibly bullish about the technology. It remains to be seen now whether CSIR technology will live up to the hype, but one thing is certain: it has well and truly put Glowlink on the map in the fight against satellite interference.

Integrasys

I was at the 2014 CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum in Singapore when Alvaro Sanchez, sales manager of satellite monitoring systems at Integrasys invited me to try out its new Satmotion Pocket on Google Glass product. Naturally, I accepted, as it was my first Google Glass experience. What it showed more than anything is the ability of the satellite industry to develop new technology based on other new technologies. This is one of the first ever satellite-based apps developed on Google Glass.

Satmotion Pocket aims to change the way VSAT networks are installed and monitored. It is a software-based tool that basically allows VSAT installers to autonomously visualize and measure their uplink test signal (normally a clean carrier) in the field with no need to coordinate with Network Operations Center (NOC) personnel. Uplink signal measurements are taken at NOC site with a commodity spectrum analyzer and a controlling software server.

The key for the technology is that it aims to ensure the most efficient use of High Throughput Satellite (HTS) technology by providing a more effective way to deploy VSAT networks. The whole Satmotion Pocket system aims to offer much quicker deployment and access to the satellite; this improves significantly the satcom on fixed VSATs and also coms-on-the-move, such as maritime.

In 2014, Integrasys also released the Satmotion Pocket for the iPhone and the iPad, which follows on something similar the company did with Android in 2013. This allows the final customer to commission the remote in any platform in the minimum time in a lightweight device.

Newtec

On the European satellite technology landscape, few companies stand taller than Newtec, which is at the heart of a satellite broadcast and broadband revolution. In 2014, the company launched Newtec Dialog, a scalable and flexible multiservice platform that allows operators to build and adapt their infrastructure easily as their business and the satellite market grows and changes.

The Newtec Dialog platform can be used to address the consumer and enterprise VSAT, broadcast, cellular backhaul and trunking, as well as government and defense markets. Newtec believes such a platform is key to future industry needs and to a successful future for the company. It has already signed major customers such as Airbus Defence & Space for this platform, an important early validation for the technology. Newtec claims this new platform typically results in a doubling of the transponder throughput using the same bandwidth or reduces the required space segment capacity by 50 percent.

The company also made some major strides in the broadcast arena, and was at the heart of many 4K demonstrations throughout 2014. For example, it partnered with Measat Satellite Systems to demonstrate 4K in Asia at CommunicASIA using the new DVB-S2X standard earlier this year — one of the first demonstrations of its kind. It also launched a full portfolio of DVB-S2X modulators, modems, demodulators, hubs and OEM boards. Like with any technology company, the proof of its developments will be the revenues it can generate as a result. Newtec is on track to have more than 20 percent revenue growth this year, which is an impressive performance.

Harris Government Communications Systems

Harris is a technology company that plays across a number of verticals such as maritime, government and oil and gas, bringing in new technology to the market. 2014 was key year for Harris Harris Government Communications Systems as it delivered the first AppStar adaptable and reconfigurable satellite platform for payloads. The new platform is at the heart of the company’s technology strategy. In late October, Aireon announced that Harris had delivered the first of 81 ADS-B receiver payloads based on the AppStar reconfigurable payload platform. The payloads will be launched and deployed on Iridium NEXT to provide Aireon’s real-time aircraft monitoring system that will optimize air traffic management around the world. The partnership with Aireon is a key validation of the AppStar platform.

Harris also introduced a steerable Ka-band space antenna reflector for commercial applications in 2014. This 5-meter Ka-band antenna reflector supports more and smaller spot beams to take best advantage of available Ka bandwidth, which supports higher data rates for DTH and/or mobile data applications than traditional C- and Ku-band systems. Finally, Harris developed a fixed-mesh reflector with demonstrated performance up to Ka-band and higher frequencies. According to the company, it can achieve total reflector mass savings approaching 50 percent of a similar solid graphite reflector for large sizes (approximately 3.5 meters).

ScheduALL

ScheduALL provides Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) software in more than 50 countries. In 2014, it launched its ScheduALL Portal, its latest solution for customer self-provisioned transmission bookings. The company sees Portal as a natural complement to its ScheduALL Connector self-provisioning technology, and is fully integrated into its ScheduALL Chorus interoperability platform.

Portal is a web-based platform for customers to book Occasional Use (OU) feeds online, in real-time, directly into the ScheduALL system of the transmission provider (satellite, terrestrial and Layer 2 Ethernet). Portal uses straightforward, interview-style questions that establish a broadcaster’s requirements (i.e. time, source, destination, quality of service, etc.) and provide the appropriate booking and pricing options.

The aim of its self-provisioning solutions is to eliminate tedious emails, phone calls, and “management by spreadsheet,” ScheduALL believes this translates into operational efficiency and cost savings on both sides of the buying/selling relationship. In particular, it also allows transmission providers to remain cost competitive and enhance profitability.

The Winner

It has certainly been a banner year for new technology with satellite companies once again stepping up to the plate and bringing innovations to the table that will help satellite operators become more efficient, and also help determine satellite’s place in a more fragmented communications and broadcast ecosystem. It is likely to prove tough to judge, just as with the Satellite Executive of the Year award. Nominated companies have proved they could be deserved winners. However, there can only be one victor, which will be announced at SATELLITE 2015. We look forward to seeing you there. VS