ST Engineering iDirect, MEASAT partner to power HTS satellite

ST Engineering iDirect, a global enabler in satellite communications, announced that Malaysian satellite operator MEASAT, is significantly expanding its iDirect Evolution-based satellite network to deliver a plethora of services to enterprises and communities located in rural and ultra-rural areas across Malaysia.

MEASAT-3d, launched on June 22, 2022, will provide C, Ku and Ka-band HTS capacity so that users will be able to enjoy high-speed broadband regardless of their location within Malaysia. The contract was sealed in partnership with Datacom, a regional service integrator and long-term partner of ST Engineering iDirect, that will carry out the upgrade, activation and support of the network.

The Evolution platform already underpins MEASAT’s network which serves thousands of remote sites across Malaysia, making it one of the largest globally deployed networks. This upgrade will now expand delivery of consumer and enterprise broadband services for farms and plantations, community Wi-Fi broadband for rural underserved regions, cellular backhaul to MNOs, government and soon, land and maritime mobility services. The Evolution platform supports MEASAT’s true multiservice offerings.

As MEASAT increases its capabilities and service offerings, the consistent reliability, efficiency and high performance of the Evolution network gives MEASAT the experience and confidence to expand the platform to deliver MEASAT-3d’s HTS services with speeds up to 100 Mbps to the broadest spectrum of users, from home consumer all the way to high-end enterprise. It will mark a tenfold increase in satellite broadband capacity as the use of broadband for education, government, cellular connectivity, land mobility, economic activity and social interaction accelerates. MEASAT benefits significantly from the DVB-S2X efficiencies over the Evolution platform which maximizes operations for various markets through the flexible iQ Modem Series.

“Having operated the Evolution platform for years, we are well-acquainted with its multi-band, multiservice capability, scalability, flexibility and efficiency as well as its ease of management,” said Jeevan Rao, Associate Vice President, Network Engineering & Operations, MEASAT. “The Quality of Service capabilities within the platform allow us to differentiate and manage different Service Level Agreements and services for our customers, no matter how simple or complex their needs may be. With the launch of MEASAT-3d, our next-generation HTS satellite, we want this level of performance to continue. And, with the Evolution platform, we are confident that our network will go from strength to strength as we grow our CONNECTme broadband customer base to connect more users in hard-to-reach areas and promote digital inclusion for all, across multiple markets.”

“Building on our strong, leading partnership with MEASAT, we look forward to their continued successful rollout of services over this latest addition to the MEASAT fleet,” said John Arnold, Regional Vice President, Asia, ST Engineering iDirect. “Enabled by our partner Datacom, this expansion program will significantly expand the network and deployment size on MEASAT-3d. We know how much Quality of Service, ease of operations, scalability and efficiency means to MEASAT and we are confident that we can exceed their expectations and deliver an efficient, flexible solution that addresses such a wide range of markets and users.”

“Datacom is delighted that our long-term partner, ST Engineering iDirect, has its top tier technology integrated into MEASAT-3d, the next generation satellite in MEASAT’s fleet at the 91.5°E hotslot,” said Boris Ng, Chief Executive Officer, Datacom System International. “Our mission is to provide the best-in-class HTS gateways with baseband solutions for MEASAT, including services and support to ensure a highly resilient network is deployed.”