Ka-band Tracking VSAT Antenna for Satellite Communications on the Move

在过去的一年里，几颗新一代Ka波段卫星(包括欧洲的Avanti的Hylas和Eutelsat的Ka-Sat)的发射，大大增加了当前地面系统无法到达的地区的宽带用户的能力。这些卫星是全球Ka频段可用卫星趋势的一部分，大约有60颗卡瓦尔德卫星已经在轨道上或计划在2014年前发射。除了这将给卫星传送宽带部门带来提升之外，这对移动卫星通信部门来说也是一个重要的机遇，英国移动卫星供应商Inmarsat已经参与了Ka波段卫星的采购，用于移动用途。多年来，Hollycroft Associates一直积极参与欧洲高速列车卫星传送宽带的开发，并确定了低成本的需求。用于移动环境的高吞吐量终端，可以利用较低成本的Ka频段容量的可用性。到目前为止，商业市场上还没有这样的终端可用，因此Hollycroft Associates建议开发一种完整的终端设计，该设计利用了英国现有的各个子系统的能力，并可以很容易地开发成商业产品。这将重建英国卫星终端的能力，为移动地面终端领域的出口打开机会。我们已经进行了为期三个月的简短可行性研究，并确定了几家英国公司可以在供应链上合作，将适当的产品推向市场。虽然Hollycroft Associates和这些公司将提供一些内部开发资金，但也需要一些外部资金，因此市场证明是获得这些外部资金的关键下一步。

The past year has seen the launch of several new-generation Ka-band satellites (includingAvanti's Hylas and Eutelsat's Ka-Sat in Europe) which provide a significant increase incapacity for broadband users in regions beyond the reach of current terrestrial systems. Thesesatellites are part of a trend towards the availability of Ka-band globally, with some 60 Kabandsatellites either already in orbit or scheduled to be launched by 2014.In addition to the uplift this will give to the satellite delivered broadband sector this alsorepresents a significant opportunity for the mobile satcom sector, and UK-based mobilesatellite provider Inmarsat is already involved in the procurement of a fleet of Ka-bandsatellites for mobile use.For some years Hollycroft Associates has been actively involved in the development ofsatellite delivered broadband to high speed trains in Europe and has identified the need for alow-cost, high-throughput terminal for use in a mobile environment that can take advantage ofthe availability of lower cost Ka-band capacity. As yet there are no such terminals available inthe commercial market and consequently Hollycroft Associates proposes to develop acomplete terminal design which draws on individual subsystem capabilities available in theUK and which could be readily developed into a commercial product. This would re-establisha UK satellite terminal capability, opening up opportunities for export in the mobile groundterminal sector.We have already undertaken a brief three-month feasibility study and have identified a smallgroup of UK companies that could work together in the supply chain to bring an appropriateproduct to market. Whilst some internal development funding will be available fromHollycroft Associates and from these companies, there would also be a need for some externalfunding and thus a proof of market is the essential next step in securing this external funding.