Private Networks Over Satellite: Relevant In Diverse Market

 

The closer you look at private networks and virtual private networks over satellite, the sooner you realize that both have considerable potential, and the two service offerings have emerged just as many multi-site enterprises are searching for reliable and affordable business continuity and enhanced networking options.

Private networks and virtual private networks (VPN) over satellite are receiving a good deal of attention lately. Increasingly Internet Protocol (IP)-based, data-centric enterprises want complete reliability and need to be assured that their bandwidth — wired and wireless — is capable of supporting the task at hand. In addition, information technology managers need to know that when the chips are down, bandwidth in abundance is flowing via satellite across the entire enterprise.

“The overall enterprise VPN market in the U.S. is sizable, and competing in this segment requires the ability to provide services such as full network and service management, security services, high reliability and sophisticated IP networking functionality,” says Sampath Ramaswami, senior director, service development and marketing at Maryland-based Hughes Network Systems, which is the leading provider of satellite-based private networks. “A fully managed private network service will include all of the life cycle service delivery elements — from network design and engineering, deployment, 24-by-7 operations, network management, field maintenance, billing, fault management and performance management. Given the intense competition for the larger accounts, price points are very important,” he says.

John Dwyer, CEO of End II End Communications Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., which has deployed VPNs for companies such as BASF, urges satellite providers to partner with terrestrial providers and to “embrace and educate them on the additional value-added services that satellite provides such as business continuity, disaster recovery and multicasting/broadcasting. … A recent U.S. Postal Service contract, which was one of the biggest satellite contracts awarded in several years, is the perfect example. Partnering with a satellite provider for last mile and value-added services enabled [the Postal Service] to deploy their advanced services,” says Dwyer. “This importance (of satellite) to the enterprise wide area network (WAN) grows as customers of the terrestrial and satellite providers securely extend the enterprise and increase their usage of enterprise applications down to the remote office.”

Government agencies, small office settings, medium-sized businesses and telecommuters are driving demand, says John Beattie, director of WildBlue Enterprise Solutions at Colorado-based WildBlue Communications. The satellite operator offers Ka-band satellite-based high-speed Internet access and network solutions including end-to-end VPN solutions provided by approved third party vendors such as UDcast, Xiplink and Encore Networks. WildBlue also recently teamed up Orbital Data Net and Encore Networks to deploy a satellite-based VPN solution for the State of Missouri. Users “are looking for secure connectivity between areas where there is no terrestrial connectivity and a corporate HQ/data center,” says Beattie. “It is important to note that these solutions include a router, proprietary satellite acceleration technology, and true IP [security] protocols in a separate network device.”

According to Iñigo López, product marketing director at France’s UDcast, demand for VSAT connections for branch offices of enterprises is growing at 10 percent per year, and in markets such as the Asia-Pacific region, demand is growing more than 30 percent. While the market is there, providers need to work with companies which sometimes will plug in terrestrial VPN network devices without coordinating with designated satellite service providers. This can quickly lock up satellite networks. “The intrinsic problems of the slowness of enterprise applications that were not designed to be used over networks with longer delays and security need to be addressed,” he says. “When branch offices need to get connected to the company’s intranet over satellite, the VPN solution must match the level of security of the enterprise.”

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