Comtech EF Data Releases Feature Enhancements Across Satellite Modem Portfolio to Enable Service Differentiation

Groundbreaking technology advancements in direct response to spacecraft innovations and market requirements will enable service differentiation in trunking, backhaul and networking

Tempe, Arizona, November 4, 2014 – Comtech EF Data Corp., a thought leader in the satellite ground equipment market for decades, providing telcos, service providers and systems integrators the most cost-effective trunking, backhaul and networking solution suite for the most demanding fixed and mobile networks, announced today the incorporation of new innovations into its industry-leading satellite modem portfolio. The enhancements include a new purpose-built, integrated High-Speed Packet Processor for the CDM-760 Advanced High-Speed Trunking Modem for high-end users, VersaFEC-2 Forward Error Correction and Modulation for the CDM-625A and CDMER-625A Advanced Satellite Modems for mid-range communications and a new Packet Processor for the CDM-570A Satellite Modem for entry-level satellite networking.

As satellite operators continue to innovate in the sky, launching new High Throughput Satellite (HTS) designs that have the potential of providing increased performance and better economics, it is imperative that ground equipment manufacturers challenge themselves to provide new, purpose-built and future-ready HTS-optimized solutions that allow users to unleash the potential to deliver new levels of services. The results of these enhanced performance levels are the economics that will allow users to penetrate new markets, increase subscriber base, offer enhanced services and minimize subscriber churn through differentiated service offerings.  Comtech EF Data has met this challenge through the incorporation of new innovations throughout its tiered satellite modem portfolio, focusing on the efficiency, intelligence and horsepower that are required to best leverage new spacecraft designs.

Addressing the highest end of the satellite trunking market, a new High-Speed Packet Processor is now available for the CDM-760 Advanced High-Speed Trunking Modem platform to best support high-speed trunking and backhaul links of today and into the future. The CDM-760 is capable of transmitting 150 Msps duplex, and provides the industry’s premier overall link efficiencies via its industry-leading DVB-S2 Efficiency Boost and DoubleTalk® Carrier-in-Carrier® (Carrier-in-Carrier) technologies. As part of its HTS-optimized feature set, the High-Speed Packet Processor has been purpose-built for the most demanding links, with packet processing capabilities of over 190,000 packets per second simplex, and more than 350,000 packets per second duplex. It has the horsepower to compress IP headers, typically saving up to 60% on bandwidth, while providing the intelligent Quality of Service (QoS) and traffic handling that are essential for links of varying capacity up to the full capacity of the modem, which is 314 Mbps simplex, 628 Mbps duplex. This high-end platform supports the ever-increasing demands of hybrid core networks that leverage satellite connections as either primary or backup purposes, assigning satellite bandwidth to meet cost constraints while providing the proper overall link availabilities, resulting in maximized network uptime. The CDM-760 provides the many layers of optimization, including K4 GZIP lossless compression, that are required to most efficiently utilize valuable space segment resources, while having the intelligence to and horsepower to support the most demanding links, resulting in an enhanced end-user experience, minimal lost revenues due to call or data connection drops along with minimal subscriber churn. Additional technical detail is available on http://www.comtechefdata.com/products/satellite-modems/cdm-760.

The VersaFEC-2 Forward Error Correction and Modulation method has been incorporated into the CDM-625A and CDMER-625A Advanced Satellite Modems, providing significant improvements in bandwidth efficiency in an Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) environment at low-to-medium symbol rates on traditional wide or HTS spot beam designs. Developed in direct response to industry demand for stronger performance and better resulting economics, the highly evolved version of the industry-leading VersaFEC waveform provides bandwidth savings from 30-40% over its predecessor while providing better application performance than the recently announced DVB-S2X standard. This provides a significant impact on ongoing operational costs to support medium rate aggregation links while avoiding the severe latency penalty associated with the standard at these data rates, which adversely affects many connection-oriented protocols, including those running on 3G. The addition of this robust innovation complements the CDM-625A’s and CDMER-625A’s existing feature set, which includes intelligent IP traffic handling and header compression via its integrated, purpose-built Packet Processor, lossless payload compression engine and Carrier-in-Carrier technology. The resulting levels of optimization and efficiency that these features in tandem provide further distances the CDM-625A/CDMER-625A from its competition in the mid-range modem market space. The intelligence and sheer horsepower of the modems enable mobile network and telco operators to continually increase throughput per site as subscriber demand dictates, to roll out new enhanced services to generate new revenues, to upgrade existing infrastructure to support 3G, often in the same bandwidth as is supporting existing 2G services, and to increase subscriber base while minimizing end user churn though a heightened level of service reliability and uptime. Additional technical detail is available on http://www.comtechefdata.com/products/satellite-modems/cdm-625a.

In the entry-level category, a new purpose-built Packet Processor is available for the CDM-570A/L Satellite Modem to provide enhanced levels of performance in terms of throughput, header compression and traffic shaping. The CDM-570A/L, leveraging the Carrier-in-Carrier technology, VersaFEC low-latency LDPC advanced Forward Error Correction and lossless payload compression, provides the most-efficient, low data, rate point-to-point solution available today. The new intelligent traffic handling increases net spectral efficiencies while pushing the throughput possibilities of point-to-multipoint satellite networks to new levels due to the platform’s on-board processing. Teamed with the CDD-564/L and CDD-564, the CDM-570A/L enables users to support large satellite networks that require high throughput from remote to hub locations, as is the case when carrying high definition and mission-critical content. Additional technical detail is available on http://www.comtechefdata.com/products/satellite-modems/cdm-570a.

To provide the level of network insight required to run optimal networks, all three of these modems along with Comtech EF Data’s amplifier and frequency converter offerings, are managed via the NetVue™ Integrated Management System. NetVue provides a single intuitive graphical user interface that acts as a user-friendly front end to monitor and control equipment in the network. It features a robust, comprehensive network management and analytics engine that allows users to intelligently maximize resources, ensure network uptime and provide the elevated levels of service that are required in the field to support fixed and remote sites. NetVue provides immediate insight into user-defined key performance indicators along with the traffic and trend analysis to ensure that resources are intelligently and efficiently allocated across the mission-critical network.

“Satellite operators, through innovative HTS spacecraft designs, have challenged ground equipment manufacturers to provide new solutions that allow customers to leverage all that these new designs promise”, said Steve Good, Vice President of Marketing for Comtech EF Data. “We are meeting this challenge via innovative solutions that solve business problems and are tailored to different applications, including high-speed trunking, backhauling and satellite networking. Our intelligent NetVue management system pulls our product suite under one roof, providing the insight required to run optimal networks, which is key given the current satellite communications industry transformation.”

Comtech EF Data Corp., a subsidiary of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ: CMTL), is the recognized global leader in satellite bandwidth efficiency and link optimization. The advanced communication solutions encompass the Advanced VSAT Solutions, Satellite Modems, RAN & WAN Optimization, Network & Bandwidth Management and RF products. The Company is recognized as a technology innovator, and has a reputation for exceptional product quality and reliability. The solutions enable commercial and government users to reduce OPEX/CAPEX and to increase throughput for fixed and mobile/transportable satellite-based applications. For more information, visit comtechefdata.wpengine.com.

Certain information in this press release contains statements that are forward-looking in nature and involve certain significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking information. The Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings identify many such risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking information in this press release is qualified in its entirety by the risks and uncertainties described in such Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

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Media Contact:
Sue Lassandro
Telephone +1.480.333.2289
Email slassandro@comtechefdata.com