SES taps Harmonic for upgrades for C-band transition

Satellite operator SES has turned to technology outfit Harmonic for technology upgrades associated with the C-band transition plan filed with the US FCC in June.

Harmonic said the pair would work together to fast-track the deployment, to free up spectrum for 5G while enabling SES’s C-band customers to maintain the quality and resilience of video services. This network transformation is based on Harmonic’s software solutions for satellite video delivery. SES and Harmonic will deploy Harmonic’s XOS media processing in the headend and XOS Edge transcoding solutions in remote sites for primary distribution of video feeds. The XOS solutions are based on Harmonic’s streaming platform, which it said would bring OTT capabilities to satellite delivery.

“We are proud to support SES, its customers and the communications industry in enabling the transformation of C-band spectrum for 5G,” said Jeremy Rosenberg, senior vice president, business development at Harmonic.

“Our software-based solutions set the standard for flexibility by enabling these traditional satellite delivery networks to deliver solutions with industry-leading bandwidth efficiency.”

The announcement follows the submission by satellite operators of plans for clearance of C-band spectrum with the FCC in June. SES announced plans to build four new satellites for US coverage to meet the FCC’s accelerated plan to clear the spectrum. SES-18 and SES-19 will be built by Northrop Grumman in Dulles, Virginia, while Boeing will build two all-electric satellites – SES-20 and SES-21 – in Los Angeles.

SES said the new satellites will enable it to clear 280MHz of mid-band spectrum for 5G use while migrating its existing C-band customers.