True mobility can be achieved with iDirect’s spread spectrum, global NMS, automatic beam switchover and advanced features that ensure seamless connectivity as vessels, yachts, aircrafts or small high-speed land vehicles travel among multiple networks.
Spread Spectrum
Spread spectrum ensures seamless, high-speed connectivity to small antennas on aircraft, maritime and land-based vehicles. iDirect Spread Spectrum implementation significantly reduces the risk of causing adjacent satellite interference from small antennas by spreading out the bandwidth and power of the satellite capacity. The utilization of Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) in a TDMA architecture is a very efficient use of spread spectrum; it enables only one remote terminal to transmit, lowering the required spread factor and yielding a more resourceful system. The iDirect spreading factor is adjustable between 2 and 16 times, making it highly flexible to adjust to any bandwidth requirement.
Global NMS
To achieve global coverage remotes need to move among networks on various transponders and satellites, controlled from a variety of hubs and network management systems around the world. iDirect’s single Global Network Management System (Global NMS) enables service providers to monitor and manage each traveling remote, ensuring a consistent connection as it passed through separate networks around the world. Global NMS enables every remote to have multiple instances in the different hubs while being uniquely identified by a fixed global IP address when travelling around the globe.
Automatic Beam Selection
Automatic Beam Selection (ABS) is the most powerful and flexible way for remotes to automatically roam from network to network. Remotes can travel across satellite footprints and maintain seamless connectivity without the need for manual intervention.
Through exact GPS positioning and constant data point comparison with the hub, the iDirect router determines the best satellite coverage at any time. When it is determined that a travelling remote is reaching the beam edge, the router initiates an automatic repointing of the antenna and transfer of the connectivity to the new beam, enabling the continuous delivery of communication services.
OpenAMIP
iDirect developed the OpenAMIP protocol in 2006 as an industry-wide open-source standard for antenna-router integration. OpenAMIP eliminates the need for proprietary coding to make new antennas or routers introduced into the market work together. This IP based protocol facilitates the exchange of information between an Antenna Controller Unit and a satellite router. It allows the router to command the antenna and enables the use of Automatic Beam Switching (ABS), which transfers connectivity from one satellite beam to the next as a vessel, plane or vehicle passes through multiple footprints.
Portability
iDirect features an industrial-grade product line consisting of hubs, line cards and remotes that are designed specifically for transport and deployment in harsh environmental conditions. These products are all tested and certified in accordance with the MIL-STD 810F standards for temperature, altitude, humidity, shock and vibration performance making it a logical choice for deployments in communications-on-the-move networks.