Intelsat demonstrated an advanced interactive, multimedia, Ku-band satellite terminal that combines digital video and Internet Protocol (IP) traffic into a single data stream at the ITU Americas Telecom conference and exhibition last week in Rio de Janerio.

The terminal can be used for a wide variety of interactive applications including direct-to-home video, Internet access, voice over IP, distance learning and telemedicine. The demonstration was carried out jointly with Alcatel Space and ATC Teleports, which provided the uplink and downlink via the Intelsat 805 satellite and ATC’s teleport outside Washington, D.C.

In another demonstration at the exhibition, Intelsat and Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. showed how a VSAT directly connected to subscriber lines can be used to support voice and IP services, a configuration particularly useful in rural areas.

Additionally, Intelsat and Comsat demonstrated on-demand broadband services that will allow Intelsat users to increase their terrestrial services. The service will allow users to define the capacity they are using from 16 kilobits per second to two megabits per second with IP, frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode and ISDN interfaces.