Industry Solutions > Overview

Why IP Over Satellite?

As the world becomes more connected and network integrity of paramount importance, satellite technology is uniquely suited to the challenges of content distribution. Fully interoperable with terrestrial networks, IDC products are cost effective while leading the way for high bandwidth applications such as IPTV and digital cinema.

Advantages of IP over Satellite:

• Proven technology – broadcasters have been relying on satellites for more than three decades. They have huge bandwidth capabilities, the current generation reaches speeds of more than 200 to 300 Mb/s.
  
   
• Instant infrastructure – Receive sites can be deployed quickly and easily virtually anywhere while new sites can be deployed and integrated with terrestrial networks at relatively low incremental costs.
  
   
• Ideal for today’s high bandwidth applications – with high bandwidth applications leading the way, IP over satellite is the ideal for broadcasting from point to multi-point. Highly secure and reliable, broadcasting of high bandwidth applications such as IPTV and digital cinema, are accomplished more efficiently and cost-effectively using satellite.
  
   
• Point-to-multipoint and back again – IDC's DVB satellite broadband datacasting system, SuperFlex, integrates with other technologies such as dial-up telephony, VSAT and other two-way satellite networks, microwave, terrestrial wireless, etc. to provide a return path for point-and-click browsing, email, and bi-directional applications.
  
   

Why IDC?

The field of companies providing IP over satellite is becoming an increasingly crowded one as newcomers continue to invent (and reinvent) themselves as the experts in datacasting. IDC stands out in this crowd:

• Experience – IDC has real-life seniority in this field. Since 1997 IDC has deployed IP datacasting systems in customer sites. We have experience making these systems work and our earliest customers continue to grow with IDC. Our MTBF rates are based on reality, not lab simulations and our solutions are based on practice, not just theory.
  
  IDC's history is in the field of digital audio and data broadcasting, radio and digital data networks that must perform reliably, with a high degree of quality and control. This experience gave us a head start in developing products for IPTV and digital cinema applications as well as the next generation of IP datacasting technology.
  
   
• Diversified – IDC carries out its own R&D and manufacturing as well as integrating systems including "best-of-breed" third party equipment, and provides service from the Ottawa teleport. From all of these vantage points we gain valuable insight into the priorities and problems facing our customers. This diversification equips us to better serve our customers.
  
   
• We really ARE the experts – IDC has real-life experience with and understanding of issues critical to the success of our customers' networks. Important skill sets include: IP-level redundancy, encryption/conditional access, Quality of Service (QoS) technology, TCP/IP acceleration technology, hybrid networks incorporating broadcast video and/or legacy data systems, and RF engineering, to name a few.
  
   
• We actually care – IDC has been in business since 1984. Employees make up an important percentage of the company's ownership and every employee has stock. This ownership is reflected in the quality of our products and service and the commitment of our people.
  
   

Digital Video Broadcasting IDC is committed to "open standards" wherever possible. DVB is an international standard-built on the MPEG-2 packet-switched standards to provide a multimedia platform for audio, video and data distribution. The DVB-s (satellite) standard has been adopted internationally - in every region of the world. This makes it ideal for interconnection with the Internet, private intranets and the incredibly wide variety of third-party software and equipment that is designed to operate in this environment. For more information on DVB see www.dvb.org