Kymeta takes to the field and seas to prove beam-steering technology
Kymeta, the Redmond, Washington-based startup perhaps best known for its work to connect cars via satellite technology, is picking up steam among much larger vessels these days: container ships.
Earlier this year, Kymeta received special temporary authority (STA) to test and demonstrate its antenna technology on a U.S.-flagged container ship traveling between Seattle and Oakland, California. The purpose of that test was to show that the Kymeta beam-steering technology and antenna mounted on a mobile platform could track and transmit to a fixed satellite.
Kymeta, which was recently granted FCC permission to continue tests in the 24-24.5 GHz frequency in Redmond, is taking to the field to prove the capabilities in market niches like maritime, according to Carl Novello, vice president of Solutions at Kymeta.
Kymeta’s first generation of products is already being used in North America and parts of Central America, as well as in Europe and Asia, he said. Its deployments run the gamut from a simple and elegant single panel installed on the top deck of a ship to the other end of the maritime spectrum, where four panels and a combiner are integrated into a vessel.
The company announced a deal in March with Intelsat for its KĀLO service, which is designed to offer a way to buy and sell connectivity to customers and sectors that are currently unreached or underserved by terrestrial networks.
The company has said the KĀLO service will change the way satellite services are purchased by direct users, integrators and service providers because it will be sold much in the way cellular services are purchased. Pairing the Kymeta mTenna antenna subsystem modules and fully integrated KyWay Terminals, KĀLO will provide “easy, flexible satellite connectivity” for both fixed and mobile applications, the company says. It will target vertical sectors like rail, energy, IoT, first responders, buses and more.
Read more at Fierce Wireless
