[Via Satellite 05-08-2015] STMicroelectronics has released a 500Mbaud High-Symbol-Rate (HSR) satellite demodulator chip. Designed as part of the French Space Agency (CNES) THD-SAT 2 program, the STiD135 bolsters bandwidth efficiency and throughput for satellite broadband from higher frequency bands such as Ka-band. The demodulator chip is compliant with Digital Video Broadcast (DVB)-S2, DVB-S2X and DVB-S2 Annex-M1 standards.

“A fruit of our collaboration with CNES, the new satellite demodulator chip can deliver useful data throughput of up to 600 megabits per second in the Ka band. This represents a valuable step change to what has been available, while simultaneously optimizing the bandwidth efficiency that can be achieved in the lower-frequency Ku band. Together, this will help pave the way toward our common goal of ‘broadband for all,’” said Eric Benoit, head of product line, headed platforms, consumer product division at STMicroelectronics.

France’ Programme d’Investissement d’Avenir” (PIA), part of the French government’s Economie Numérique program supports CNES’ THD-SAT program. CNES helped create the chip to enable Internet access by High Throughput Satellites (HTS) at a performance equivalent to fiber-optic, Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), and 4G networks.

“With THD-SAT our ambition is to bring a 10-time cost reduction of bandwidth with high-throughput Ka-band satellite to distribute fast Internet services at 100/10 Mbps downlink/uplink that would complement, in a cost-efficient way, Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) deployment outside densely populated areas,” said Jean-Philippe Taisant, telecommunication senior project manager at CNES.