Hughes Demonstrates 4G/LTE Via Satellite

By Doug Lung
published

LTE and 4G are generally thought of as terrestrial transmission techniques, but Hughes Network Systems scheduled a demonstration of LTE/4G over satellite at the Naval Postgraduate School's field event last week at Camp Roberts, Calif. The Joint Interagency Field Exploration (JIFX 13-2) is designed to assess the potential for new capabilities to address the needs of combatant commanders and federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.

Hughes said it was demonstrating 4G/LTE satellite connectivity with download speeds up to 15 Mbps and upload speeds up to 2 Mbps, including video streaming, push-to-talk communications and situational awareness.

Rick Lober, VP and GM of Hughes Defense and Intelligence Systems Division said, “Today’s warfighters and emergency responders are taking advantage of new data capabilities to advance the mission, but the ability to deliver real-time video communications on-the-move with small, interoperable devices has been elusive. With this demonstration, Hughes is proud to provide an extensive military field-test of satellite-enabled 4G/LTE connectivity for video calls.”

While this demonstration focused on military applications, perhaps at some point these “small, interoperable devices” will be available for civilian uses such as remote news gathering.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.