Hughes pushes for satellite broadband standard

WASHINGTON – Satellite broadband provider Hughes Network Systems Inc. is throwing its weight behind an open standard used to transmit satellite broadband signals called Internet Protocol over Satellite or IPOS.

Hughes Network Systems received endorsement of IPOS from the Telecommunication Industry Association in December, and on Wednesday, the company announced it was forming an IPOS Forum to promote adoption of the standard. The company will license some of its intellectual property related to IPOS royalty-free to other companies working on IPOS-related products, according to Hughes.

Company officials, during a press conference in Washington, D.C., said an open satellite broadband standard was important for the satellite industry to encourage development in the satellite broadband industry. Until now, most satellite broadband providers have been using proprietary standards in their satellite systems, said Pradman Kaul, chairman and chief executive officer of Hughes Network Systems, based in Germantown, Maryland. “This has lead to systems that do not talk to each other,” Kaul said of the proprietary standards.

IPOS is not the only broadband satellite standard available. The DVB-RCS standard, created through an organization called the DVB Forum, is also an open standard that allows two-way communication with satellites. Hughes officials said DVB-RCS, which stands for “digital video broadcast — return channel via satellite,” is a standard that could be developed further, but they promoted IPOS as the only interface specifically designed for efficient delivery of broadband satellite services.

Hughes has lined up support for IPOS from several technology companies, including Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp., and Hewlett-Packard Co. No other satellite broadband vendors are on board yet, but Hughes officials expect significant interest in IPOS. “This is really the announcement of IPOS,” said Mike Cook, senior vice president and general manager of Hughes’ Spaceway Business Group. “We have not actively engaged other satellite broadband companies yet.”

A competitor of Hughes called Wednesday’s announcement a “marketing tactic.” Fritz Stolzenbach, spokesman for satellite broadband vendor Spacenet Inc., said his company also uses an IP-based broadband system. “At first blush, it looks like they are trying to say they’ve developed a standard for IP over satellite,” he added. “It seems like an interesting marketing and PR tactic that probably has little relevance to reality.”

But Hughes officials said an industry standard open interface is essential to the future of the broadband satellite industry. With other broadband services such as DSL (digital subscriber lines) not available in all areas, broadband satellite is the best hope for small and medium-size businesses that need broadband service to stay competitive, Cook said. “Without satellite broadband, many, many businesses will struggle to compete,” he added.

IPOS is already used on about 300,000 satellite terminals sold by Hughes, company officials said. IPOS is compatible with Web browsing, video conferencing, voice over IP and Wi-Fi services, the company said.