At Satellite 2004, Hughes Network Systems (HNS) announced its commitment to open standards by unveiling a comprehensive initiative to promote industry-wide adoption of the Internet Protocol over Satellite (IPoS) standard, recently approved by the TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association).

Endorsed by major technology industry leaders including HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Nortel, and Sun Microsystems, the IPoS announcement generated significant interest and extensive media coverage, with articles appearing in more than 15 publications including Network World, InfoWorld, Cnet, ZDNet, and Satellite Today.

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Ratified as the TIA-1008 standard in November 2003, IPoS is the only industry standard optimized for delivery of IP broadband services over two-way satellite channels. Already implemented in over 300,000 DIRECWAY^® broadband satellite terminals worldwide, IPoS specifies a well-defined and open interface called the “SI-SAP,” or Satellite Independent Service Access Point. This enables development of a wide range of "plug-and-play" applications, such as virtual private networks (VPNs), Voice over IP (VoIP), distance learning, or videoconferencing. "

All applications—from email and Web browsing, to video conferencing and distance learning, to multicasting of media rich content—can be delivered more cost-effectively as IPoS compliant solutions," said Mike Cook, senior vice president and general manager, SPACEWAY^TM. "IPoS, already used by more than 50 percent of the broadband satellite market, will open doors to enhanced and optimized products and services for delivery over satellite networks."

The success of the IPoS launch also points to a future where broadband will be available to anyone, anywhere. According to Frost & Sullivan¹, more than 40 percent of businesses are at risk of becoming disenfranchised from their marketplaces because they do not have access to business quality broadband. “Intel^® believes that broadband provides many opportunities for the enterprise, and that satellite broadband technology offers compelling advantages,” said Joe Jensen, general manager, Intel Corporation. “The adoption of the IPoS standard, complemented by flexible end points based on Intel architecture, benefits the industry and enterprise customers by stimulating more widespread adoption and the ability to reduce costs. Intel continues to work closely with Hughes Network Systems to help bring the benefits of DIRECWAY services within the reach of more users.”

The SI-SAP, defined in IPoS, separates the satellite dependent functions from the application layers, thereby enabling an open service delivery platform. As a result, applications can be easily developed and are readily portable and scalable.

For the application developer, and the users of the applications, the transport architecture of IPoS is hidden under the SI-SAP and IPv4,” said John Kenyon, senior vice president, HNS. “This allows companies to implement applications that do not require constant modification to take advantage of improvements and changes in the underlying satellite transport. Applications and value-added services running over IPoS operate at the IP level, simplifying upgrades and portability.”

Widespread adoption of IPoS by application developers and manufacturers will open the door to a much larger world of broadband satellite services and bring it into the mainstream—yielding more choices and more value to enterprise and residential customers alike.

¹ “Broadband and the Role of Satellite Services,” G.L. Fong and K. Nour, Frost & Sullivan, March 2004.