Earlier this month global satellite solutions provider SES Government Solutions (SES GS) hosted their second O3b satellite demonstration for over 50 U.S. Government customers at the SES Washington Media Port in Bristow, Virginia. SES GS previously conducted an O3b demo at MacDill Air Force Base last year. SES GS and O3b have teamed to demonstrate game-changing technology to deliver fiber-like connectivity via satellite.

"Using this next-generation capability, the U.S. Government will benefit from the high throughput and low latency O3b offers to support operations at national security flashpoints around the globe. Latency-sensitive cloud-based applications, as well as HD video streaming can all be supported quickly and affordably, even to forward deployed troops," said President and CEO of SES GS, Pete Hoene.

The O3b satellite capability is often referred to as an alternative to fiber. In places where government customers need communications connectivity, fiber networks may be unavailable. This is especially true for disparate locations around the world where government users may be deployed.

In the case of fiber, these networks may take up to three years to construct. The O3b system demonstrated by SES GS would be operational within months of contract award.

U.S. Government users rely on high speed local area networks in order to use various types of applications such as high definition intelligence distribution, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data retrieval and real-time command and control. O3b's ground-breaking technology enables these applications to perform at the same speeds in remote areas of operation as they do in the continental U.S. (CONUS).

Other applications O3b would support include immediate distribution of high resolution imagery and video, maps, weather data and other processed intelligence information. The real-time voice, video and shared desktop conferencing capabilities can be used for situation awareness, planning and after action reviews, and remote telemedicine consultations and diagnoses, as well as tactical 4G/LTE wireless backhaul.

SES GS was the first government distribution partner to include O3b on their General Services (GSA Schedule), making them the first distribution partner to offer O3b capability directly to the U.S. Government.

The system shown at the demonstrations is comprised of O3b network infrastructure and user-tailored applications - and is currently available on their GSA Schedule. SES GS is poised and ready to support the U.S. Government with O3b and other applications today.