Comtech, in partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb, has announced trial services aimed at delivering Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity to various regions across Antarctica.
Launched in January 2024, the trial presents a solution for offering connectivity to customers situated in Antarctica. Leveraging Comtech’s Elevate VSAT ground system, the partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb enables the provision of LEO connectivity services, boasting data rates soaring up to 120 Mbps, to one of the world’s most demanding geographic terrains. Comtech’s Elevate ground system, customised and deployed in tandem with Eutelsat OneWeb, facilitates the simultaneous delivery of robust and resilient connectivity services across multiple OneWeb LEO satellites.
John Ratigan, Interim CEO of Comtech, said: “This is a remarkable achievement—not only for the satellite industry, but also for the broader scientific, technology, and connectivity markets around the world. We are thrilled to partner with OneWeb to deliver LEO connectivity services to Antarctica, which further demonstrates the advanced capabilities of our Elevate VSAT ground system. With proprietary software-defined technology embedded at the core, we are continuing to build out network agnostic capabilities of our ELEVATE system to meet the future demands of innovative satellite constellations and hybrid network infrastructures.”
The trial underscores the critical importance of high-speed, low-latency connectivity for both the scientific community and the broader Antarctic region. Satellite-based LEO connectivity services, exemplified by the collaboration between Comtech and Eutelsat OneWeb, offer invaluable support to scientists in Antarctica, facilitating real-time assistance from scientific, technical, or health teams across the globe. Moreover, such connectivity services hold the promise of enhancing the well-being of scientists, even beyond working hours, as they endure extended deployments spanning up to 18 months in one of the planet’s most remote and challenging environments.
Comtech’s Elevate ground system stands as a testament to innovation, offering a transportable, software-defined VSAT system renowned for providing commercial and government customers access to high-speed connectivity across diverse satellite constellations in multiple orbits. Designed to seamlessly identify, collect, and route data from various satellite constellations and orbits, Elevate also delivers next-generation capabilities such as 4K video streaming and voice services.
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