As data traffic volume around the world surges, many industries are looking to upgrade their satellite communications capabilities to handle the changes, and avoid strain on their networks. In particular, the mining sector is understanding the benefit of transitioning to Ka band satellite technology. Unlike C band and Ku band, this new spectrum delivers increased capacity and flexible payloads that can answer changing customer demands. Ka band also allows for smaller and more mobile terminals to be used, making them a more cost-effective and ideal alternative to industries with remote business operations.
The mining industry, for example, cannot always rely on terrestrial networks, such as fibre optic cables. In Australia and South Africa, some mining sites are simply to remote for fibre or even fixed wireless services to reach. In these locations, the last mile problem can be answered via satellite coverage, and preferably through the Ka band satellite which employs multi-spot beams with Ku band-like coverage. This extends the range of a covered area, allowing customers to uplink and receive signals from almost anywhere. New generation Ka band satellites can also have the advantaged of higher-throughput capacity allowing for services like Internet from satellite, SCPC, broadcast networks, military satcom services, and VoIP.
There is still a long way to go for the new technology to be in full use, not only in the mining sector, but also in the resource industries. However, as more organizations understand the unique advantages of Ka band, the satellites of the future are ready to play a more crucial role in delivering powerful communications anywhere, and any time.
