Netcracker Tapped to Provide Telesat Lightspeed’s Business, Operations Support System

Telesat Lightspeed constellation. Photo: Telesat and Via Satellite illustration

Telesat has contracted Netcracker Technology to provide Business Support System/Operations Support System (BSS/OSS) software for is Lightspeed Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation.

Under the terms of the agreement announced April 13, Netcracker will deploy a digital BSS and OSS suite on Telesat Lightspeed’s hybrid cloud infrastructure. The BSS/OSS system will manage a variety of functions and capabilities on the constellation, including sales support, product inventory, customer billing, service quality and assurance management, and network management.

Telesat LEO Vice President Erwin Hudson said that the Netcracker BSS/OSS suite provides tools that will allow the operator to quickly respond to customer needs and deliver new services to market. “Telesat and Netcracker share a culture of innovation, and we are confident in their ability to deliver on our vision of a flexible and efficient cloud-native technology platform that will maximize the quality of experience for our customers,” Hudson said in a statement.

Netcracker is the latest addition to Telesat’s list of Lightspeed contractors on the $5 billion constellation project that will be centralized in the city of Quebec.

In February, the operator signed Thales Alenia Space as its prime contractor to build the satellites and MDA as its phased array antenna manufacturer. MDA (which is now a publicly traded company) recently issued a subcontract to Analog Devices for the Beamforming Integrated Circuit (BFIC) that will be used on those antennas.

Telesat has yet to select its major partner for Lightspeed’s ground systems. However, the operator recently contracted SatixFy to provide advanced modem designs for Telesat Lightspeed landing stations and user terminals. SatixFy is also testing second-generation Sx3099 modem chips for use in the system.