Nichols Martin
A subsidiary of ST Engineering North America has demonstrated multiterminal bandwidth sharing via a return link system that works to expand the beam hopping capacity of Telesat's low-Earth orbit satellites.
ST Engineering iDirect said Wednesday its Multi-Frequency Time Division Multiple Access platform underwent an over-the-air test with the Telesat Phase 1 satellite.
Telesat’s Allan Park facility served as the venue for the test in which iDirect's very-small-aperture terminal technology connected with multiple satellite modems.
MF-TDMA compensated for signal variation, frequency, time and other satellite link dynamics during OTA test.
Erwin Hudson, vice president for LEO at Telesat, said the demonstration showcased how MF-TDMA could boost the operational flexibility and allow for satellites to accommodate more end-users per LEO unit.
IDirect noted the milestone opens up the possibility of new applications for the satellite operator's public and private sector customers.
