Newtec launches Clean Channel Technology™ and calls for an expansion of the current DVB-S2 standard to ensure continued vibrancy and profitability for the satellite industry

SINT-NIKLAAS, Belgium, 9 February 2012 - Satellite communications specialist Newtec has taken the lead, teaming up with DVB members Arabsat, Cisco, SES and Thomson Video Networks, to get the discussion for an update to the DVB-S2 standard on the DVB agenda. Last week DVB took up the task and has already started investigating the commercial reasoning behind a specific standard for satellite broadcast contribution and high speed IP trunking and backbone links.

As a first step in extending the current DVB-S2 standard, Newtec is launching its Clean Channel Technology™ at the up-coming Cabsat and SATELLITE exhibition and conference. Clean Channel Technology further improves satellite efficiency for IP trunking and backhauling, but also broadcast contribution by up to 15% compared to the current DVB-S2 standard. Newtec’s customers will be able to immediately benefit from Clean Channel Technology as it is available as a software field upgrade for existing Newtec equipment.

According to Newtec the time for change is now and there are a number of critical items that can be addressed in the improvement of the current DVB-S2 standard including:

an extension to guarantee interoperability and better satellite efficiency for professional satcom applications

a differentiation between contribution and distribution to make the greatest efficiency gains by making the standard aware of the application in which it is being used

an optimisation per application for ranges of typical and realistic conditions

an increased number of modulation and coding schemes and Forward Error Correction (FEC) choices providing the highest resolution for optimal modulation in all circumstances.

Additionally, adding higher modulation schemes, such as 64APSK, is useful considering the professional applications that could work with improved link budgets provided by, for example, bigger antennas and more powerful satellites. Newtec sees the 32APSK boundary being reached frequently with its FlexACM® technology. In these situations 64APSK could provide higher transmission speeds and lower operational costs.

“We predict that a new DVB standard will lead to significantly more efficient solutions than any DVB-S2 based satellite equipment on the market today is capable of. This step forward is critical to ensuring the continuation of a vibrant and profitable satellite industry,” Dirk Breynaert, CTO and co-founder of Newtec, said. “The current DVB standard has served the industry well, but it is now more than 10 years old. We do feel that our satellite industry will benefit even more by having DVB and its members support the idea of developing an extended standard in line with today’s technological advances”

For further information about Newtec, visit www.newtec.eu.