THOR 7 to provide faster broadband connections from the South Pole
December 1, 2011
Telenor Satellite Broadcasting’s (TSBc) latest satellite, THOR 7 will provide the Norwegian troll base located at the South Pole with increased satellite capacity for the distribution of key meteorological data from the research station, Trollsat. The additional capacity will also provide faster and more stable broadband connections, essential for employees working at the base, as its current data capacity is limited.
Under this new co-operative agreement with Norsk Romsenter Eiendom, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting will provide a dedicated link from Antarctica for Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) , utilising dedicated satellite capacity on THOR 7 , Telenor’s latest satellite, which is due to launch at the end of 2013. The link will be used to distribute meteorological and environmental data for research environments and will be sent to Nittedal, TSBc’s largest teleport for further distribution to Europe and the US.
“Thanks to this agreement, we can look forward to meeting the increase in requirements for the distribution of meteorological and environmental data collected from numerous earth orbit satellites to user communities in Europe and the US” said CEO Rolf Skatteboe at KSAT “The additional capacity is also essential for the welfare of our employees, who will easily be able to maintain contact with family, colleagues and friends through the internet, email and IP telephony”.
Bo Andersen, the Chairman of Norsk Romsenter Eiendom said, “This agreement provides KSAT with increased transmission capacity to further support and expand its growing requirements for Earth observational data received in Antarctica, which can then be quickly distributed across the world. This is a new and exciting phase in our developing relationship with Telenor Satellite Broadcasting and we look forward to working closely with them on future opportunities”
For Norsk Romsenter Eiendom, it is important that the space sector positively contributes to the development of other disciplines and through this agreement it can strengthen its Norwegian Polar research from its Polar institution research station, Trollsat.
“For Telenor Satellite Broadcasting this contract signifies our joint ambition in strengthening our partnership with Norsk Romsenter Eiendom”, said Cato Halsaa, Vice President and CEO at TSBc “With THOR 7 launching in 2013, we are able to support fresh initiatives and are happy to utilise our satellite position 1°West to provide data communications in the polar regions.”
The term of the agreement remains in place for the lifetime of the THOR 7 satellite, which is at least 15 years.