OneAccess CEO Confident Montenegrin Deal Will be the Spark for Others

[Via Satellite 10-07-13] The Montenegrin Police Force is the latest customer in Europe looking to benefit from high-powered satellites. Earlier this month, Eutelsat Communications and Satellite Broadband Service Network Montenegro (SBS Net) announced the completion of an ultra-fast, secure satellite network connecting Montenegro’s police headquarters with the country’s six border control stations. The implementation is the first live VPN to use OneAccess’ satellite router, which delivers high speed, enterprise-class VPN services via Eutelsat’s next-generation Ka-Sat satellite.

“The deal is significant because it is the first live example of an enterprise broadband VPN solution delivered via Eutelsat’s high throughput telecommunications satellite, Ka-Sat,” said Bertrand Meis, CEO, OneAccess during an interview with Via Satellite. “In March, OneAccess and Eutelsat announced the availability of an enterprise router solution which promised to open a new market segment for business-grade satellite broadband. This announcement is evidence that the European market is recognizing and responding to our new technology.”

Meis is hopeful that other deals, potentially with other police authorities and emergency services, could happen relatively soon. He said the OneAccess router creates a network environment that offers centrally-controlled, high-speed connectivity. “Network transmission speeds, critical application performance and data security can all be enhanced by introducing an enterprise satellite VPN,” Meis said. “We think there is great potential for similar deals to be done in this sector, together with a variety of others, in the coming months.”

The company works with Eutelsat in Europe but Meis admits OneAccess is already in discussions with a number of operators in Asia and the United States for its router technology. The router aims to enable the delivery of a variety of traffic acceleration, IP routing and IP-VPN secure transport services, giving network managers high levels of flexibility and control over their networks, data flows and applications infrastructure. OneAccess has designed the router to support as wide a variety of connectivity standards as possible, with the key to making a versatile performer in the market. The company sees opportunities across many sectors. “We think there is great opportunity for this technology to transform organizations that operate across remote sites and rely on consistent and secure network connectivity. Local government, banks, retailers, hotel chains, petrol stations – there is opportunity in all of these sectors,” said Meis.

However, while this deal is a good sign, Meis admits to some issues. “The main challenge we face in the next 12 months is to change perceptions of satellite broadband among enterprise customers, many of whom still consider it to be an expensive connectivity solution primarily suitable for hard to reach locations,” he said. “Our solution is quite the opposite; it is competitive, flexible, price attractive and technically sophisticated. In short, it has a great deal to offer the enterprise, particularly in support of critical networking functions like data backup.”