ST Engineering iDirect Unveils Mx-DMA Waveform Upgrade and Sets New Performance Record in Return Technology

Leading maritime service provider, Speedcast, adopts latest performance feature, tripling speed of current technology and extends rates to support the most demanding data-rate customers.

Herndon, VA., 5 June, 2023 - ST Engineering iDirect, a global leader in satellite communications, is unveiling a significant upgrade to its Mx-DMA® MRC return technology. The award-winning waveform can now support 300 Mbps on a single return channel, achieving over 1 Gbps of throughput when combined with 800 Mbps DVB-S2X on the outbound in VSAT mode.

Mx-DMA MRC shares the same capacity, multiplexing different terminals into one capacity pool and enabling service providers to mix high-throughput and very low data users on the same beam. Satellite service provider Speedcast, a leading communications and IT services provider, will leverage the waveform’s performance upgrade which will enable the company to use a single return technology across its entire maritime network, particularly to provide extended performance to bandwidth-intensive customer sets, including those across the cruise sector.

The waveform offers a record 100 symbol rate per second (Msps), up from 25 Msps. The new symbol rate, or its bitrate conversion of 300 Mbps, creates three times as much throughput as before. When combined with the other attributes of Mx-DMA MRC, the waveform is further enhanced to serve the widest range of markets on a single network. The newly extended performance is available on the MDM5010 modem, the industry’s fastest VSAT modem for shared bandwidth networks.

“This advancement in technology will enable a better experience for customers. Increasing Mx-DMA’s capability to 100 Msps allows customers access to more bandwidth in a dynamic network pool versus a static SCPC link return, resulting in a more seamless experience with ever-growing expectations for bandwidth delivery,” said Will Mudge, VP of Engineering Operations at Speedcast.

“We are delighted that we are able to offer Speedcast a solution that enables it to meet the unique requirements of every customer profile with the best possible connectivity experience, assured availability and reliability,” says Sean Yarborough, VP of Product Management at ST Engineering iDirect. “It’s the ultimate in scalable return technology.”

Introduced to the market in 2020, Mx-DMA MRC is a return link technology that combines the benefits of MF-TDMA (ideal for bursty traffic and higher contention services) and the spectrum efficiency of SCPC (more applicable to dedicated higher data and video rate return links) into a single return technology suited to a greatly expanded set of applications.

Mx-DMA scales in MHz independent of the number of terminals so customers may be served with a single return link for the majority of their use cases, minimizing operational complexity and maximizing statistic multiplexing. Mx-DMA MRC delivers these benefits by maintaining the industry-leading spectral efficiency and performance while drastically improving the agility, scalability and fill efficiency. Designing a Mx-DMA MRC link does not require precise knowledge of the traffic and terminal mix as the link self-optimizes in real-time. Moreover, the high efficiency enables bandwidth savings, higher throughput, better network availability and substantial terminal cost savings.

*****

ST Engineering iDirect, a subsidiary of ST Engineering, is a global leader in satellite communications (satcom) providing technology and solutions that enable its customers to expand their business, differentiate their services and optimize their satcom networks. With over 40 years of delivering innovation focused on solving satellite’s most critical economic and technology challenges we are committed to shaping the future of how the world connects. The product portfolio, branded iDirect, represents the highest standards in performance, efficiency and reliability, making it possible for its customers to deliver the best satcom connectivity experience anywhere in the world. ST Engineering iDirect is a leader in key industries including mobility, broadcast and military/government. In 2007, iDirect Government was formed to better serve the U.S. government and defense communities. For more information visit www.idirect.net.

For media enquiries, please contact news@stengg.com.