News
Al Jazeera deploys BGAN X-Stream
15/05/09
Al Jazeera English has become the first news organisation to use Inmarsat's new BGAN X-Stream mobile broadband satellite service, which enables streaming of broadcast-quality video from the field.
The premium BGAN X-Stream, introduced last month, allows a guaranteed minimum symmetrical video streaming rate of 384 kbps, with up to 450 kbps expected under optimal conditions. The service is commercially available in Europe, Africa and the Middle East and is scheduled to become available for the rest of the world this June.
Al Jazeera is using the service to broadcast live television news coverage of military developments from Pakistan and has since used BGAN X-Stream daily for live broadcasts throughout the Middle East region. It will deploy an additional 30 BGAN units for use at news bureaus worldwide.
Distribution partner Stratos, which worked closely with its UK-based channel partner Applied Satellite Technology (AST) to deploy this solution for Al Jazeera, said minimal training was required for journalists to use the portable terminals.
Stratos and AST have to date provided Al Jazeera English with 45 Hughes 9201 BGAN terminals to successfully broadcast live news coverage. Sixteen of those terminals utilized the BGAN X-Stream service. Al Jazeera English is using QuickLink software for live and file-based video transport and acquisition over IP.
top