PAGE CONTENTS
Objectives
The objectives of the Product Phase are:
1. to develop a Virtual Teleport (VT) functionality, allowing hub, teleport and satellite operators to
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use other satellite teleports’ infrastructure and bandwidth
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manage and monitor owned and dedicated bandwidth as Virtual Network Operator (VNO)
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benefit from the platform’s full-service portfolio and customer management & monitoring tools
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monetise bandwidth and infrastructure through neXat
2. to provide access to non-geostationary constellation services and to benefit from low latency satellite services
3. to add a competitive traffic shaping functionality and routing to neXat SAP
The three key new features are illustrated in the figure below.
Challenges
The main challenges of the project are:
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to overcome the high complexity of such a platform, including the traffic control and network management functions and the Virtual Teleport component
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to meet the high level of service availability, reliability and security required by teleports and Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
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to alleviate any technical difficulties in accessing non-geostationary constellation platforms, due to a high degree of verticalisation of such platforms, the non-availability of standards and generally the low level of compatibility with regards to application and access interfaces
System Architecture
The product is illustrated in the following high-level block diagram, which identifies the key building blocks and major interfaces.
The main elements of the system are:
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The Traffic Shaping & Routing (TSR) providing end-user IP traffic shaping and routing depending on user service profile, bandwidth and/or data consumption and overall network congestion, traffic policy definition and enforcement and QoS definition and enforcement
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The Customer Management Tool (CMT) providing a hierarchical, role-based portal allowing all actors in the value chain to access the neXat system for management, monitoring and value-added services
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The Network Performance Monitoring System (NPMS) providing monitoring of network performances and network elements to ensure security, availability and resilience. The system serves both internal customers (neXat Technical Support) and external customers (users all along the value chain, e.g. ISPs, resellers, Customer organisations, end-users)
Plan
The project follows a waterfall process. The main milestones are:
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BRD (Baseline Design Review) planned 3 months after the start of the project
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CDR (Critical Design Review) planned 3 months after the BDR
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TRR (Test Readiness Review) planned 7 months after the CDR
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FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) planned 5 months after the TRR
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SAT (Site Acceptance Test) and FR (Final Review) concluding the Product Phase after 18 months
Current Status
The project was kicked-off in March 2022. The work is currently in progress.
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