Satellite giant signs MoU

Satellite specialist Intelsat has signed a memorandum of understanding with software-defined/optical networking comms company, Aalyria. The MoU includes “financial commitments to advance the development of a new optical technology that will transfer record amounts of data between ground and space.”

The agreement creates a framework for the cooperative deployment of the latter’s technology. This was described by a spokesperson as “a software and hardware platform that can orchestrate bi-directional optical ground and space connectivity for satellites at speeds of hundreds of gigabits per second.”

Discussing the move, Intelsat chief technology officer, Bruno Fromont, said: “Aalyria's groundbreaking technologies give us the opportunity to pursue highly secure connectivity at unprecedented speeds, opening up new frontiers in satellite communications.

“[This] collaboration will enable enhanced mobile broadband connections and represents another step forward towards our ‘next generation unifying network’ vision, enabled by software-defined networking, 5G and multi-orbit operations."

Intelsat describes itself as the “operator of one of the world’s largest integrated satellite and terrestrial networks.”