BUSINESS

CLIENT ENGINEERING

HISPASAT o ers highly specialised and personalised engineering services to its clients, providing users with high added value when de ning and designing cutting-edge customised solutions that will allow them to develop and carry out their business plans successfully.

During 2016, the client engineering teams in Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico worked intensely to be able to o er their clients the most advanced solutions in the eld of satellite communications, a sector that is experiencing an increasing number of challenges and opportunities year after year. As a result of this effort, in 2016 more than 1,700 network designs were made, producing more than 600 transmission plans and approving over 100 new professional ground stations that operate with satellites of HISPASAT’s eet.

NEW SERVICES AND ADVANCED SOLUTIONS

Throughout 2016, HISPASAT contributed to the development of advanced satellite solutions for their clients, a few particularly noteworthy examples being the coverage extension systems for cellular telephone networks (cellular backhaul), Internet access via satellite for residential users and trunk network connections (IP Trunking). It is also worth highlighting the advanced solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT), which encompasses all sensors and objects connected to the network, and in emergency communications for situations such as natural disasters, an area in which satellites have become particularly relevant over the past few years, and in which HISPASAT is becoming more and more present through their OnTime products.

MOBILITY MARKET

One of the company’s main markets for expansion throughout 2016 has been the mobility market, in which they are seeking to develop solutions for clients in the railway and maritime markets as well as new products for buses, cars and helicopters, among others.

In this sense, HISPASAT actively collaborated in the entry into production of the “PlayRenfe” service, led by Telefónica and for which HISPASAT is providing the necessary capacity to provide live TV services and Internet access.

HISPASAT participated in the development and standardisation of the new low pro le antenna, developed alongside Indra and Aicox and which has been installed in dozens of trains manufactured by Alstom and Talgo. A large e ort was also dedicated to the integration of the HISPASAT solution based on iDirect technology with the communications architecture designed by Telefónica exclusively for this project.

Since November 2016, passengers on the Madrid–Sevilla route were nally able to have Internet access and the best live content Movistar+ has to o er. The deployment is expected to increase over the next two years, reaching the 89 AVE trains considered for the project.

Following this initial business success, HISPASAT continues to do analysis in order to extend its solution in this market to other countries and geographical areas in 2017.

In the maritime sector it has developed connectivity services thanks to the extensive coverage of HISPASAT satellites over the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea and the Caribbean Sea, among others, which are another important business focal point for
the company. In this regard, in 2016 a new commercial service was initiated in which HISPASAT, along with an Internet provider (ISP), provides Internet connectivity to several Transmediterranean vessels in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands using the iDirect broadband platform.

Work was also carried out this year for HISPASAT’s entry into the terrestrial mobility market. Associated with this market is one of the largest projects being carried out extensively in Central America, the main objective of which is to provide satellite internet connectivity to hundreds of buses which transport travellers throughout a large part of Mexican territory. This project has technical and economic challenges which would further distinguish HISPASAT as a pioneer provider in mobility projects.

Furthermore, in the aviation market, it is worth mentioning the increase in analysis and services requested for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in North America. One example is the service with XTAR offered through the H30W-4, for which different antenna and modem models have been analysed. Thanks to the work done with XTAR and the good service offered, this service could expand throughout 2017.

In the eld of innovation, HISPASAT is working with other partners on the development of new products, solutions and service which are useful in the area of mobility, from the development of low-cost antennas for cars or helicopters, to the analysis of cellular backhaul services on high speed trains.

MIGRATION OF TELEFÓNICA IN PERU

In 2016, the engineering team participated in the migration project to new orbital positions (36o West and 70o West) for a total of 1,457 VSAT terminals of Telefónica in Peru (TiP) which received service through the Hispasat 84W-1 satellite.

Speci cally, the rst phase of the project was completed in 2016, which consisted of the migration of 775 terminals to the E36W-A satellite as a temporary measure until the implementation of the Hispasat 36W-1 in mid 2017.

Furthermore, in the last few months of the year, preparation was made for the migration of a second network to 70o West on the H70W-1 satellite (Star One C4) (682 terminals), including providing necessary materials, de ning migration procedures, implementing double illumination and carrying out preliminary tests. The migration of these terminals is expected to be concluded in early 2017, opening up space capacity previously occupied by the Hispasat 84W-1 satellite.

Throughout the year the company made periodic visits to clients, and carried out
daily meetings, both in the studying and planning stage, as well as during the project’s execution, in order to ensure the dates on migration calendar were met, to carry out a follow-up and to make sure the established objectives were met.

Thanks to these actions, a complete revision was made of the terminal complexes of TiP previously deployed at 84o West, substituting equipment, optimising the services of the network segments involved and improving general customer satisfaction.

PROJECTS IN NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA

In the markets of North and Central America, focus has been on trying to expand to new service architectures, moving away from traditional connectivity models in these markets, as well as maintaining our strength in this area which was achieved over the last several years.

Historically, HISPASAT has had a great presence in Mexico with socially oriented Internet access services. These projects are driven by the administration with the main goal of providing connectivity to public schools and hospitals.

In 2016 projects developed which sought added value for already existing services and which constituted a step forward from what had already been done. One example is the aforementioned bus project.

AUDIOVISUAL MARKET

In the audiovisual market, HISPASAT continues its intensive work in developing new and advanced solutions, such as ultra high definition television, new video coding technology (HEVC), connected television, and distribution systems in multiscreen homes.

With the goal of keeping their position at the forefront of technology, HISPASAT has continued its activity in diverse DVB working groups, specifically in DVB-S2 or DVB-UHDTV groups.

Moreover, with the aim of making these new technologies known, the company has demonstrated these technologies on numerous occasions, at speci c events for clients as well as at major fairs in the sector (NAB, IBC or the Washington Satellite Show or HISPASAT Innovation Days).

As a result of these activities, many of HISPASAT’s clients are incorporating the new technologies into their networks (more e cient coding and modulation systems and adaptive systems, among others), which allows them to improve the e ciency and quality of their services, further optimising the occupation levels of the system.

In this market, the main focus for client engineering teamwork in 2016 is the continuous support and assessment of VIVO in the design of the new DTH joint platform in Brazil.

Furthermore, dozens of analyses were carried out regarding the dimensions of said platform in order to nd the best solution for the client as the quantity needs, the type of channels or the service quality were being modi ed. This process includes a migration of transponders from a total of six networks, from three di erent clients, with all the analyses, internal approval processes and associated broadcasting plans, for which the support of providers and third party working teams were needed, in which the client engineering team participated actively.

Moreover, an exhaustive activity was carried out to improve the facilities at Telefónica at the teleport in Lurin, Peru, in order to optimise the services provided, in addition to several in-person campaigns in different cities in Brazil to help VIVO de ne its technical strategy in the deployment of the TV platform.

In addition to this project, in order to achieve even greater growth in the audiovisual sector in Brazil, a plan was developed for installing antennas in video headends for the largest cable operator in the country, NET, with the aim of increasing the number of television distributor clients.

NEW SATELLITES FOR THE FLEET AND OPTIMISATION OF CURRENT CAPACITY

In 2016, client engineering had an important role in providing support for the marketing of new satellites of the feet which will provide service in 2017: Amazonas 5, Hispasat 30W-6 e Hispasat 36W-1.

In this regard, it is worth mentioning the work of Client Engineering in the definition of network configurations and transponders of the Hispasat 30W-6 in Ka band to o er with Quantis a residential Internet access service that meets the speed target 30 Mbps included in the Spanish Digital Agenda 2015-2020.

Until Hispasat 30W-6 is in operation, the company o ered Quantis the possibility of initiating their service in capacity of Hispasat 30W-4 and Hispasat 30W-5. For these services, designs were made which would serve as a reference in order to know the maximum speed, and the necessary activities were de ned for the adjustment of all transmission and reception elements and the configuration of the satellite’s transponders. In this way, the modulations and coding in the theoretical designs could be achieved, providing a better customer experience as a step prior to the arrival to the Ka band of Hispasat 30W-6.

Another positive e ort was made in de ning plans for optimising capacity for all satellites of the eet, which allowed the company to increase and adapt their space capacity o er and broadband services available to clients.

In 2016, the transponder 69 of Hispasat 30W-4 was released in order to activate a new transponder with capacity between Europe and America. To do so, networks of three clients were moved to different transponders with the associated transmission plans and support and quality tests. This way the transponder was able to be emptied within the established time period, allowing for commercial growth in other coverage.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

During 2016, HISPASAT contributed an added value of support to its clients for all aspects that a ect satellite communications, including maintenance and support for already existing networks.

Several of the aforementioned projects required a visit by HISPASAT’s client engineering team to client facilities for demonstrations or equipment compatibility tests, among others.