ST Engineering, MEASAT expand partnership for enterprise satellite connectivity

Satellite communications services provider ST Engineering iDirect has confirmed 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.

Launched on 22 June 2022, MEASAT-3d is designed to provide C, Ku and Ka-band high-throughput satellite (HTS) capacity so that users will be able to enjoy high-speed broadband regardless of their location in Malaysia.

ST Engineering believes that as MEASAT increases its capabilities and service offerings, the consistent reliability, efficiency and high performance of the Evolution network gives the operator the experience and confidence to expand the platform to deliver MEASAT-3d’s HTS services with speeds up to 100Mbps to home-based workers to high-end enterprises.

The launch marks 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. Also, ST Engineering says MEASAT will benefit significantly from the DVB-S2X efficiencies over the Evolution platform, which maximises operations for various markets through the flexible iQ Modem Series.

Supporting what ST Engineering says are “true” multiservice offerings, the Evolution platform is already the basis of MEASAT’s network, which serves thousands of remote sites across Malaysia, making it one of the largest globally deployed networks. This upgrade is designed to 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.

“Having operated the Evolution platform for years, we are well acquainted with its multi-band, multi-service capability, scalability, flexibility and efficiency, as well as its ease of management,” said Jeevan Rao, associate vice-president, network engineering and operations at 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.”

John Arnold, regional vice-president, Asia at ST Engineering iDirect, added: “Building on our strong, leading partnership with MEASAT, we look forward to their continued successful roll-out of services over this latest addition to the MEASAT fleet. Enabled by our partner Datacom, this expansion programme 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.”

The contract was sealed in partnership with Datacom, a regional service integrator and long-term partner of ST Engineering iDirect, which will carry out the upgrade, activation and support of the network.