WATERLOO, Ontario—A recent Subaru commercial that shot in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, was able to keep its on-set production crew and remote members of the production connected via Dejero’s CellSat connectivity service.

First Mile Technologies set up a flexible, portable workflow based on the Dejero CellSat service, a blended cellular and KU-based IP satellite technology, which delivered connectivity to and from set as well as allowing for real-time collaboration using live streaming video.

The infrastructure set up by First Mile Technologies transported the camera feed from a Dejero EnGo mobile transmitter over the CellSat service to a Dejero WayPoint receiver. The stream was then sent to various platforms (i.e. Zoom) for real-time, virtual collaboration. CellSat also provided bandwidth to support VoIP phone connectivity for the crew of six in Banff.

“CellSat service streamlined every single aspect of critical communication and feedback for this job, by delivering resilient connectivity from a remote mountainside where usually the delivery of only a handful of stills would have been possible,” said Brendan Cooper, president, film and new media at First Mile Technologies. “This time, with Dejero CellSat, the team on set was able to receive real-time feedback, approvals and general collaboration, which isn’t normally feasible or affordable in extreme locations like this one.”

For more information, visit www.dejero.com

WATERLOO, Ontario—Dejero, along with land terminal provider AQYR, is giving its customers the option of utilizing both cellular and satellite connection paths to mobile production teams courtesy of a CellSat turnkey rental package.

The HEVC CellSat system from Dejero blends cellular connectivity from multiple mobile networks with Intelsat’s Ku-band IP satellite connectivity. The rental package also includes equipment, software and connectivity services to the CellSat network, which is all managed in the cloud. Additional features for CellSat includes multiple antenna options like portable flyaway and vehicle-mount options.

As part of the rental package, AQYR is providing its Typhoon 1.0 meter satellite terminal. The Typhoon delivers satellite acquisition in a single case for two-way broadband VSAT communications. It is comprised of lightweight carbon fiber reflector, auto positioner and compact integrated RF components. The terminal is fully operable from the auto positioner or can be accessed through a remote GUI to manage network profiles and view real-time updates.

The CellSat package is available in Europe through AQYR and in the U.S. through Dejero sales channels.

WATERLOO, ONTARIO--Canadian media provider Global News and Entertainment Tonight (ET) Canada relied on Dejero’s CellSat video over IP transport solution to ensure reliable, high-quality live coverage of last month's wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to a global audience topping three million viewers. CellSat seamlessly blends cellular and Ku-band IP satellite connectivity. Global Television’s Global News and ET Canada are part of the Corus Entertainment multi-platform, multimedia enterprise.

On the day of the wedding, Global provided seven total hours of live on-location coverage, while ET Canada’s Cheryl Hickey and Sangita Patel delivered special live reports of pre- and post-event activities during the week of the wedding. Since then, Global News’ and ET Canada‘s Royal Wedding content accessed via YouTube reached more than six million unique viewers, while full ceremony replay achieved more than 1.8 million views.   

CellSat is the result of a technology partnership between Dejero, a provider of cloud-managed video transport and Internet connectivity, and Intelsat, a provider of integrated satellite communications services. CellSat seamlessly blends Dejero’s bonded cellular from multiple mobile network carriers with Intelsat’s Ku-band IP satellite connectivity to provide sufficient bandwidth to reliably deliver live, broadcast quality video while on location.

[Read Dejero And Intelsat Partner On Video Transmission Solution]

According to Dejero Founder Bogdan Frusina, CellSat gives broadcasters covering a significant event, like The Royal Wedding from Windsor, England, “A high degree of confidence that their live feeds will transmit without fail.” This is because CellSat solves the technical challenges caused by cellular network congestion and/or the lack of available fiber connectivity.

Mark Blanchard, Manager, Network Resources at Global News added, “Time and resources are extremely limited in a high-profile event like The Royal Wedding. Our crews need to be able to do their jobs quickly and easily without having to worry about technical complications.”

Blanchard continued, “Using CellSat to blend cellular and satellite enabled us to take advantage of the strengths of both transmission technologies and deliver exceptional coverage of the Royal Wedding with little stress or technical issues.”

LEXINGTON, KY.—WLEX-TV, the NBC affiliate in Lexington, Ky., has begun using a new mobile news vehicle from Frontline Communications with connectivity provided by Dejero CellSat, Dejero announced today.

Built upon a Chevrolet Traverse SUV, the station’s new remote vehicle does not require a specialized operator or pre-arranged satellite slot to contribute stories and live shots. “You simply put up the dish in case it’s needed, and it connects on demand –and only when the cellular signal alone isn’t strong enough,” says Sam Gordon, operations manager at the Cordillera Communications-owned station.

CellSat takes advantage of Dejero’s patented network blending technology to improve reliability with the combination of cellular connectivity and a Ku-band IP satellite link provided by Intelsat, the company said. If there is a falloff in cellular bandwidth, up to 7.5 Mb/s are available via satellite.

[Read: Dejero And Intelsat Partner On Video Transmission Solution]

“We have a full remote production facility connected directly to the studio, plus anyone can jump in and drive the SUV as there is no need for special licenses,” says Gordon.

Operators back at the studio can control the vehicle’s transmitters in the field, monitor and route incoming video feeds and view detailed performance data with Dejero’s cloud-based management system, the company said.

Having satellite connectivity available for times when cellular networks are congested proved useful for the station in December when it sent a crew to Nashville to cover college bowl play from Nissan Stadium.

“Although the Nissan Stadium in downtown Nashville, which usually has solid connectivity available, with somewhere around 70,000 fans, we figured that the cell networks could get overloaded—so we needed a backup. CellSat gave us the extra confidence that we wouldn’t lose connectivity during a live shot,” says Gordon.

WATERLOO, ONTARIO & LUXEMBOURG—A team up between cloud-managed technology provider Dejero and integrated satellite communications company Intelsat has resulted in a new blended cellular and Ku-band IP system for live TV coverage from remote locations. The new system is known as CellSat.

CellSat uses Dejero’s patented network blending technology to combine cellular connectivity from multiple network carriers with Ku-band IP connectivity provided by Intelsat. In the event that the bandwidth available from cellular connections dip due to network congestion or other factors, CellSat can automatically blend in Ku-band IP satellite connectivity to boost the bandwidth back to the requested level.

CellSat communicates with satellite terminal auto-acquire systems to simplify the satellite connection process. It does not require scheduling satellite time. The system can also allocate satellite bandwidth.

The CellSat system features pre-certified encoding and receiving equipment, network blending software, connectivity services to the CellSat network, cloud management and 24/7 technical support. Most satellite vehicles with existing Ka-band or Ku-band satellite equipment can be upgraded for compatibility with CellSat.

Dejero has made CellSat available to consumers in the U.S. and Canada, with more regions expected to be added in 2018.