You may have heard of High-Throughput Satellites, but how about Extreme Throughput Satellites (XTS)? Panasonic has signed up for XTS service with APSATCOM, a China-based affiliate of APT Satellite (APT), the operator of the APSTAR satellite constellation. Under the terms of the deal Panasonic will have multiple gigahertz of Ku-band capacity on the new APSTAR-6D satellite, over China and high-density routes around East Asia including Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia using narrow XTS spot beams.
The satellite was jointly designed by APSATCOM and Panasonic, and is intended to give Panasonic’s connectivity customers targeted capacity where it is most needed, rather than capacity spread evenly over the planet. In addition, APSTAR-6D will provide HTS coverage over the full field of view of the satellite, including areas not served by any other HTS satellite.
CEO of Panasonic Avionics Corporation, Hideo Nakano, stated, “Today is a milestone moment as Panasonic leads the industry with plans for the next evolution in inflight connectivity. Targeted, flexible use of extreme high throughput capacity ensures that Panasonic can meet the needs of our airline customers for cost-effective and reliable high bandwidth services well into the future.”
Andy Fellows, Vice President of the Asia, Japan and China Regions for Panasonic Avionics, said: “This is a truly exciting milestone for connectivity customers across Asia, especially China. From the very beginning, we knew China was the fastest growing market for inflight connectivity, and we worked tirelessly with partners to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to expand service in this key region.”
