High speed communication services anywhere, anytime
A European research project under the umbrella of the TEN-Telecom is developing a mobile satcom service capable of supporting the latest multimedia communications. SATISFY2000 will provide high speed communication services to mobile users worldwide. The system utilises satellites to connect to users and their high quality mobile and portable terminals for multimedia and internet communications, thus offering the same services to the mobile user as those available through fixed line or cellular networks. SATISFY2000 will allow multimedia communications not only from urban or metropolitan areas with terrestrial infrastructure, but from any location within Europe in the SATISFY2000 satellite's line of vision. There will be two main services in the SATISFY2000 portfolio. The first is audio and video contribution services, which will allow journalists and electronic new gathering teams to send their audio and video news feeds directly from the field to the newsroom. The second consists of broadband IP (Internet Protocol) services offering internet access or intranet connectivity to international corporations. Main applications will be remote access to corporate networks and intranets, and LAN (Local Area Network) interconnectivity services. Businesses will benefit from the service by being able to connect their business to the internet, interconnect different locations in intranets and connect each other in extranets anywhere, anytime. This is expected to improve competitiveness and global operations. The project was launched in January 1999. A complete system integration has already been carried out, resulting in a full operational prototype satcom system. This includes a working fixed earth station in Germany, a portably satcom terminal and an innovative billing and customer support system. A network of broadband business partners has also been established, which will allow SATISFY2000 to be marketed throughout Europe following the conclusion of the project in spring 2001.