Shin Satellite continues its quest to develop new services for its iPSTAR broadband satellite with its latest offering: mobile broadband for moving vehicles.
The iMOVE product - developed in partnership with US-based RaySat Antenna System - comprises a low-profile 5.9' array antenna from RaySat that can be fitted onto any vehicle.
iMOVE claims several advantage over existing vehicle-mounted satellite antennas, such as automatic connection and an uplink speed of up to 1.5 Mbps (compared to 200 kbps on other products). It also allows users to connect on a monthly subscription basis, making it a cheaper and simpler option than blocking and leasing airtime for a satellite feed.
But the real value, says Patompob Suwansiri, head of marketing for IPSTAR, is that the iMOVE antenna can track the iPSTAR satellite while the vehicle is in motion.
'This opens up a new suite of potential applications,' he told the Show Daily. 'Business users could hold a video conference on the road, disaster recovery crews could stay connected en route to disaster sites, and SNG [satellite news gathering] crews could broadcast live on their way to an event or back to the studio, instead of having to stop and deploy the antenna as they do now.'
Public transportation is another option, with the iMOVE antenna providing backhaul for Wi-Fi connectivity on trains or buses, for example.
iMOVE' is available now in Thailand, China, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand and will be available throughout the rest of Asia-Pacific in 2007.