Dr. Leslie Klein reports

C-Com DEVELOPS Q-BAND ANTENNA FOR TRACKING A MOVING STRATOSPHERIC PLATFORM

C-Com Satellite Systems Inc. has developed a new 1.2-metre Q-band driveaway antenna for tracking a moving platform in the stratosphere.

The new iNetVu 1200+ Q-band driveaway antenna is a rugged, carbon-fibre-based antenna system, designed with heavy-duty precision gearing and robust servomotors, to ensure continuous reliable tracking of a moving stratospheric platform.

The vehicle-mounted system is a rapidly deployable ground station that maintains a Q-band link at 38-40 gigahertz to a flying stratospheric platform. It's part of next generation, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) used as a gateway between a flying node and a terrestrial core network.

The flying node is described as a HAPS (high altitude platform station), an unmanned arial vehicle (UAV) deployed into the stratosphere at a height of around 20 kilometres.

It is also known as a flying cell tower; as it can cover an area of approximately 250 kilometres in radius and can replace hundreds of ground-based cell towers.

The mobile platform can be rapidly deployed over a disaster area where terrestrial networks are unavailable or have been destroyed and deliver 4G/5G and 6G cellular coverage to unmodified cellphones with extremely low latency.

The advantages offered by this unique solution as compared with traditional approaches is that the set-up does not need any fixed Earth station gateway. The vehicle equipped with the C-Com antenna becomes a mobile gateway and can be deployed and connected in minutes. The mobile gateway provides the customer a highly suitable solution for quick disaster response or for any temporary coverage for multiples sites.

In addition, the millimetre-wave link at Q-band delivers far higher bandwidth when compared to Ku and Ka bands and has the added advantage of making it harder to intercept, thus making it more suitable for backhaul applications and security-sensitive uses.

"The system has been designed to deliver rapidly deployable and transportable Non-Terrestrial Networks for backhauling and emergency services in areas where fibre or cellular infrastructure does not exist," said Dr. Leslie Klein, president and chief executive officer of C-Com Satellite Systems.

"Using C-Com's high-precision antenna hardware, the system tracks moving communication nodes positioned in the stratosphere, in real time, and establishes high-capacity, low-latency links in the millimetre-wave band. It enables a solution that conventional fixed microwave and geostationary satellite links cannot deliver; rapidly deployable, uninterrupted, high-capacity connectivity with a moving counterpart," added Dr. Klein.

About C-Com Satellite Systems Inc.

C-Com Satellite Systems is a pioneer and a leading global designer, developer, and manufacturer of transportable and mobile satellite-based antenna systems. The company has developed proprietary, auto-acquisition controller technology for rapid antenna pointing to a satellite with just the press of a button, enabling broadband internet via satellite across a wide range of market applications worldwide, including regions unserved or underserved by terrestrial access technologies.

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