Connecting the Unconnected Has Taken on a New Urgency We Are Helping to Power This Connected Future in Several Ways
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Connecting the unconnected has taken on a new urgency We are helping to power this connected future in several ways Dan Losada, Vice President International Division, Hughes speaks to Teletimes Interview: Khalid Athar 22 October 2020 October 2020 23 Q1: To begin with, how has COVID impacted Control (CDC), the World Health Organization back-up system for small business connectivity. your industry and operations so far? Is business (WHO), and national and local governments to returning to normal? Would you like to also talk mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Another example of our innovations to support about any role the satellite industry played in multi-transport networks is the incorporation reducing the impact? Like everyone, we are hopeful for a ‘return to of Layer 2 functionality into our JUPITER normal’ sooner rather than later, and we look System platform. The leading VSAT platform A: At Hughes, we have always known that forward to having our employees back in our in the world, the JUPITER System enables high our services enable essential connectivity. In offices. From a larger perspective, we believe performing, efficient services across 40 satellites the midst of a global pandemic, people and that there will be permanent ramifications from around the world. The platform incorporates businesses everywhere are seeing first-hand just this unprecedented situation. Two of those Layer 2 functionality to seamlessly integrate how crucial connectivity is to healthcare, the consequences are highly relevant to our mission: multi-transport terrestrial and satellite traffic, economy and society in general. Hughes and the the long-term adoption and investment in establishing a transparent bridge between entire industry have been helping by connecting teleworking technologies, and the necessity of a base station and the mobile core thereby people around the world and providing the connectivity for all. greatly simplifying the network design and links to critical information – from precautions implementation. In Indonesia, the JUPITER to help curb the spread of COVID-19 to access to telehealth resources to dissemination of government mandates such as at-home schooling and business occupancy levels. "In Colombia, our partner Speedcast Since the start of the pandemic, traffic on the HughesNet® network has increased dramatically is deploying community Wi-Fi hotspots in all our service areas: the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. We continue to remote and hard-to-reach villages to optimize the network to serve our customers’ ongoing needs for connectivity—especially for using Hughes satellite capacity." telework and online schooling. Connecting the unconnected has taken on a Q: As we move towards a world full of multi- System is being deployed by five service new urgency everywhere around the world. For path connectivity, how are different satellite providers to enable cellular backhaul and instance, in Colombia, our partner Speedcast technologies evolving to achieve this goal? How Internet access at 8,000 sites under a project is deploying community Wi-Fi hotspots to is Hughes contributing to this? with BAKTI, a division of the Indonesian Ministry remote and hard-to-reach villages using Hughes of Communications and Information. So far, satellite capacity. In the Philippines, Cignal TV A: The simple fact is that no single transport the JUPITER System has been deployed in is launching satellite Internet service using the technology can meet the demand for seamless, over 1,600 base station sites in Indonesia in Hughes JUPITER™ System. reliable connectivity for people, enterprises and what is likely the largest Layer 2 over satellite things. Instead, the future of connectivity is a deployment in the world. In the enterprise market, as distributed ubiquitous network that leverages all transport businesses, such as restaurant chains, retailers, types – GEO, MEO and LEO satellites, plus In order to realize the benefits of multi-path gas stations and even government offices, cable, fiber, 4G/LTE, 5G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth – connectivity, systems require interoperability. pivot away from in-person operations to online and satellite is integral to the functioning of that Hughes is pioneering the technology necessary ordering and payments, curb-side pick-up, home network. to ensure seamless transition between delivery, and constant video conference calls, satellites and satellite types: our JUPITER they are depending on the networks that we We are helping to power this connected future System already allows for aero roaming; and manage to enable these important operations. in several ways. First, we have decades of we have successfully tested the capability of experience managing enterprise networks with in-flight switching between GEO and MEO for As far as business “returning to normal,” diverse paths across large geographies. We aeronautical applications. In the defense sector, operationally, Hughes has maintained business manage nearly half a million enterprise sites the Hughes Flexible Modem Interface (FMI) continuity for our customers around the world. globally—including nearly 40,000 managed enhances interoperability between networks by While many of our employees are working from SD-WAN sites with single deployments up to leveraging standardized interfaces and a multi- home, essential in-office personnel have been 4,500 sites—spanning fiber, cable, cellular and modem adaptor to give satellite terminals the on-site throughout the pandemic, including: satellite. ability to roam across various satellite networks. employees in our network and security The software component leverages Artificial operations centers; staff in our manufacturing Second, we are innovating the technologies Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) facility; customer care and service that enable multi-transport connectivity. Our to control terminals in the event of a signal representatives in call centers; and many of our HT2000L terminal is one example, enabling disruption and reconnect using a different engineering teams. Moreover, our installers both satellite and LTE connections in a single satellite. At Hughes, we believe that GEO and have been working in the field to connect new device. The first of its kind in the industry, the LEO constellations complement one another. customers and service existing ones across our HT2000L operates as the primary network path This is why we have agreed in principle to consumer and enterprise businesses around the or as back-up, with automatic failover switching invest $50 million in the consortium of the U.K. world, all while following the most up-to-date between the two paths and is in use for SD-WAN Government and Bharti Enterprises purchasing best practices from the U.S. Centers for Disease networks for distributed enterprises and as a OneWeb from bankruptcy. While GEO provides 22 October 2020 October 2020 23 exceptional capacity density and an affordable clinics. The award is part of the Pipol Konek Free symptoms in 70% of cases. cost per bit, LEO constellations will provide Public Internet Access Program implemented global coverage – including in the polar regions by the Philippines Department of Information Hughes has a strong AI Center of Excellence – and lower latency service. A multi-transport and Communications (DICT) with support of team that is continuously exploring various architecture takes maximum advantage of the the United Nations Development Programme ways AI and ML can advance networks and benefits of each class of satellite, delivering (UNDP). satellite technology to the next level. We believe superior capacity and connectivity to fixed and that work will continue to yield innovations mobile, surface and airborne user terminals. In Indonesia, in addition to the project with BAKTI, that define new standard for multi-transport our customer Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), connectivity and managing the increasingly Q: Can you tell us a little bit about the upcoming the oldest private satellite telecommunication complex networks of the future. J3 satellite launch? What segments and areas and information service provider in Indonesia, are you targeting with this? uses the JUPITER System for broadband services Q: What will be the key focus for Hughes during over the PSN VI High-Throughput Satellite. the rest of 2020? Any major milestones to A: JUPITER 3 is our next-generation Ultra High- They are helping to bridge the digital divide in achieve in the near future? Density Satellite (UHDS) expected to launch in Indonesia with satellite-enabled high-speed the second half of 2021. The satellite is being Internet access and Community Wi-Fi Hotspots. A: First and foremost, we are focused on manufactured by Maxar in California. At launch, JUPITER 3 is likely to be the largest commercial satellite ever deployed and will "No single transport technology can meet provide more than 500 Mbps capacity (more than two times the capacity of JUPITER 2). When the demand for seamless, reliable connectivity JUPITER 3 joins our fleet of High-Throughput Satellites, comprised of JUPITER 1 and 2, as for people, enterprises and things." well as Hughes 63 West (Telstar 19V payload), Hughes 65 West (Eutelsat 65W payload) and Hughes 20 West (Al-Yah 3 payload over Brazil), supporting our customers around the world with our entire JUPITER-enabled fleet will deliver In one African nation, a Ministry of Health the connectivity they need, especially during this more than 1 terabit of capacity over North and is connecting remote clinics to their central unprecedented time in history. South America. database for online access to health data at the national and local level as well as tele-health Second, we’re excited about the completion JUPITER 3 will significantly expand HughesNet, training and patient consultation. So far, 250 of and launch of JUPITER 3 and continued our consumer broadband offering which already 850 planned sites have been connected using a improvements to the Hughes JUPITER System, has more than 1.5 million subscribers. Notably, JUPITER System hub and terminals. the platform of choice for satellite networks the satellite will enable service plans with speeds worldwide.