Advantech announces interoperability agreement

Advantech Satellite Networks of Montreal said Friday it plans to build features in its SatNet DVB-S2 hardware to let it work with the Medium Earth Orbit Satellite Constellation from O3b Networks of the Channel Islands.

Advantech, whose target markets include the military and shipping, said the software upgrade will include satellite beam switching, which lets the SatNet remote roam from one satellite to another without dropping transmissions as it circles the earth. O3b Networks says it lets service providers connect directly to 3G networks and WiMAX towers without the requirement for major work on backhaul and international backbone trunking.

Advantech products include ground terminals and hubs the enable two-way broadband access for applications such as Internet access, virtual private networks, videoconferencing and voice over IP.