Leading satellite service provider atrexx Ltd. and Co. KG has added a new service platform to its product portfolio, specifically targeted at meeting the broadband demand in Libya and in Afghanistan. Two Ka-Band spot beams of the recently launched Hylas 2 satellite from Avanti Communications, positioned at 31 degrees east, transmit atrexx' 2way2sat services. These services include a fast access to the Internet, always-on functionality and Voice-over-IP (VoIP) ability.

"With the advent of Ka-Band, we can now provide shared and dedicated bandwidth services at a much lower price than on legacy Ku-Band", stated Miriam Zude, Senior Key Account Manager at atrexx. "A customer will save up 55% on the monthly invoice for a starter bandwidth package and up to 67% on a premium service."

In Ka-Band, a much smaller antenna, comparable to a Television receive-only (TVRO) dish, is enough to provide a broadband service with excellent availability. Together with the new iDirect Evolution X1 satellite modem, this translates into substantially lower hardware cost.

Libya and Afghanistan, like other emerging regions of the world, are highly fragmented in terms of access to fast Internet services. Satellite technology offers the opportunity to become connected without the need for cable or fiber, which is often too expensive to roll out to more rural areas or to the desert.

The new services also enable small to medium sized enterprises to become connected to the global marketplace and thus to improve their businesses from increased competitiveness. Customers can choose from different service packages with bandwidths from 256 kbps to 2048 kbps. All services are without a limitation in traffic volume and most are on a monthly recurring contract basis. In addition, atrexx responds with individual offers to special requests for higher data rates.

Thanks to DVB-S2, the iDirect Evolution platform offers 30 percent more bandwidth efficiency in the outbound signal. In addition, Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) dynamically adjusts and optimizes the outbound for each individual remote station. This translates into higher resistance to rain attenuation, particularly needed in Ka-Band, and in an additional bandwidth gain of some 50 percent at clear sky conditions.

Ms. Zude concluded: "We are sure that this new broadband product via Ka-Band satellite will help to close the digital divide between urban regions on the one hand and rural or desert regions on the other hand."