PAGE CONTENTS
Objectives
The Alphasat Ground and User Segment and Applications programme aims at exploiting the enhanced performances of the Alphasat satellite. This programme element covers the development of new services and features on the Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) and Global Satellite Phone Service (GSPS) systems, which will be supported using the Alphasat satellite and provided to mobile institutional, public and private users on a pan-European scale.
Challenges
The activities that were started in 2009 with Inmarsat include general Alphasat service and system requirements definition and preliminary design activities; and the development of core functionalities for safety and emergency communication services for maritime, aeronautical and land-vehicular environments. In addition, the programme has been instrumental to the development of new user terminals. New low-gain terminals will benefit from the Alphasat satellite extended L-band coverage and its improved power and sensitivity performance. The introduction of Alphasat also provides a great opportunity to increase the maximum bit rate for BGAN high gain terminals through the use of higher order modulation schemes together with bonding of multiple transceivers operating over multiple BGAN channels. Other activities in the programme have been focused on the development of advanced IP-based value added data services like the multi-voice service, data telemetry service or data services based on IPv6, enhancing the security of the communications over BGAN. Finally, the programme covered the development of applications, which provide an end-to-end communication solution for specific user needs.
Plan
The workplan for the Ground and User Segment and Applications programme contains a set of activities defined together with Inmarsat for the exploitation of the Alphasat as well as the global Inmarsat 4 satellite constellation.
Current Status
The initial core activities have been performed successfully in the frame of the ARTES 8 programme, with several key activities completed in June 2012, and most ongoing work related to the maritime safety data service and the SwiftBroadband safety service planned to be completed by early 2014.
New activities related to the key areas of the ARTES8-IV programme, still to be proposed or under evaluation, will now be handled under the ARTES 3-4 programme element. Any Industry interested in submitting a proposal is invited to refer to the ARTES 3-4 web pages.