Inflight connectivity (IFC) provider, Intelsat, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aalyria, a specialist in advanced software-defined and optical networking communications. The terms of the MoU include financial commitments to advance the development of a new optical technology that will transfer what the companies describe as “record amounts of data” between ground and space.
The cooperation will see the two companies deploy Aalyria’s software and hardware platform, designed to orchestrate bi-directional optical ground and space connectivity for satellites, with claimed speeds of hundreds of gigabits per second. When operational in 2024, these technologies will offer secure and fast ground-space connectivity for government and commercial customers, enabling massive data files to be delivered in real time, and the option to back-up networks that are running short of capacity or compromised.
“The advancements from this collaboration will do for space-based connectivity what the transition from copper to fibre optics did for terrestrial connectivity,” said Chris Taylor, CEO of Aalyria, based in Livermore, California. “Aalyria’s new multi-orbit network-as-a-service is set to make history by offering secure all-optical, hundreds-of-gigabits-per-second connectivity with an eye toward multi-terabit connectivity for a diverse range of platforms and environments, including spacecraft, aircraft, maritime, and remote field operations.”
