Mission-critical communications

The Ovzon Experience
High throughput satellite (HTS) technology has proven to be an essential aspect of high data rate communications for government and first responder beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) connectivity in remote areas of the world where cellular and terrestrial communication paths are not available or dependable. In today’s world, a surge of new satellite capabilities is being brought to the market at a rapid pace. However, most of these new capabilities are focused on optimizing total aggregate satellite throughput without regard to user experience. The priority of the satellite operators of today drives down the cost per bit through frequency reuse and contention by sacrificing the user’s need for performance, resiliency, mobility, efficiency and security. Ovzon AB in Sweden is taking a different approach to BLOS connectivity by putting the user experience and mission needs first with their first satellite, Ovzon 3.

Most high throughput satellites (HTS) from service providers today, such as ViaSat, Inmarsat, Hughes, SpaceX and Intelsat, have delivered commodity-based connectivity solutions that work well for simple, contended internet delivery. Most of these systems have fixed coverage bandwidth over population centres to maximize access to the customer base. If you are streaming your favorite movies or playing games on your sofa at home, these shared service solutions provide adequate connectivity at a fair price but are usually subject to data throttling based on the number of active users in a population centre.

The reality in mission-critical operations
Most government and first responders operate in areas where terrestrial and cellular connectivity are not available and BLOS solutions are the only option. Manned and unmanned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms are solely dependent on BLOS flight-certified hardware. First responders such as fire or search-and-rescue operators often respond to calamities in austere environments. Border patrol and other civil authorities need consistent connectivity to monitor and report actionable intelligence to provide for public safety. All of which are outside major population centres. These users cannot share bandwidth with others to complete their mission effectively. Ovzon 3, built on a small-satellite geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) platform, brings the capability to bear that can be leveraged immediately by government and first responder users. Ovzon 3’s very high-performance, steerable spot beams deliver potential data rates never seen before on small terminals in any band. Ovzon’s software-defined on-board processor (OBP) brings unique capabilities only imagined by Government and other special customers.

In today’s fast-paced world, staying connected is crucial for both business and personal needs, regardless of the mode of transport. Traditional satellite services with less than 700kbps (kilobytes per second) are inadequate for the growing demands of data-heavy applications. People expect an experience similar to home or office connectivity even when on the move. However, providing such connectivity is challenging in vehicles and vessels without landline options, making satellite communications (SATCOM) the only feasible solution for broadband access BLOS.

Ovzon 3’s advanced satellite architecture
In recent years, the rapid development of low (LEO), medium earth orbit (MEO) and high-throughput geostationary (GEO) satellites have captured many users’ attention with high data rates in vendor-locked technologies that provide very good data throughput at the expense of the user quality of service, security and resiliency. These operators have leveraged various marketing blitz efforts to capture user excitement and wallets without mentioning the benefits to the primary operator nor the costs of network operation, network congestion or contention, and overall user experience. Ovzon is taking a different approach to satellite design and service delivery by putting the user’s needs and priorities first. Ovzon 3’s three key differentiators, performance, mobility and resiliency deliver an architecture specifically designed for the near-peer environment through very high-power steerable spot beams, a software-defined onboard processor, and our operation in Ku-band.

As far as performance is concerned, Ovzon 3 has an all-Ku-band payload with unique properties that facilitate mobile SATCOM in ways that are superior to commercial and military Ku- and Ka-band offerings. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is a qualitative measurement ratio represented by carrier power versus system noise. SNR is fundamentally higher at Ku-band due to the higher noise component at the higher frequencies of Ka-band. In addition, and arguably most important, is rain fade. Water precipitation (specifically cloud cover, rain, snow, ice) exponentially absorbs RF signals in higher carrier frequencies. Five independent, powerful steerable spot beams can dynamically deliver capacity to the right place at the right time. Ovzon 3’s steerable spot beams provide the best combination of power density (EIRP) and antenna receive performance (G/T) in orbit. Hence, the system is optimized to boost the efficiency and performance of the current lineup of terminals and has sparked another round of innovation in the development of new terminals that are closer in form factor to a smartphone than traditional satellite terminals. Pound for pound, ounce for ounce, Ovzon satellite terminals will always outperform the competition. Their very high-performance, steerable spot beams deliver data rates never seen before on small terminals in any band.
Focusing on mobility, Ovzon’s SATCOM-as-a-service includes OTM solutions for every system vertical – land mobile, sea and air. Ovzon is continually partnering and investing in new capabilities to bring additional OTM options to customers to meet the ever-evolving needs of the user. Ovzon 3, with its five high-power steerable spots, takes this capability to the next level, providing network speed and flexibility not available on the market today. A single Ovzon 3 spot beam provides targeted high data rate capacity to a group of users in a small geographic region or can track a single fast-moving user across long distances providing an extremely high data rate.

Conclusion
HTS represented a quantum leap forward in satellite technology over traditional wide beam systems. In a similar way, Ovzon 3 builds on that success with the Ovzon OBP. With the OBP, a new class of operations can be realized. Ovzon 3 delivers a noticeable raw performance increase in available bandwidth and throughput over current HTS capabilities. User mobility capability is expanded with Ovzon’s OTM offerings and Ovzon 3’s steerable spot beams. Resiliency of the satellite’s OBP fortifies the resiliency of user ground equipment, allowing for better execution of user mission-critical communication. Ovzon 3 enables mobile command and control (C2) capabilities such as the US Department of Defense’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept by delivering high data rates through a secure and resilient transport. While other HTS and LEO architectures are appearing on the horizon, Ovzon’s exclusive OBP digital payload is unique in offering Government and First Responder users a suite of capabilities that is simply not available on any other network. The combination of Ovzon’s investments in advanced user terminals, state-of-the-art ground teleports, and a cutting-edge satellite combine into a unique SATCOM-as-a-service offering.

This is an excerpt taken from an approved report via Oyzon that was released in our sister magazine MILITARY TECHNOLOGY 3/2024.