Las Vegas -- Loral Space and Communications Ltd. used last
week's National Association of Broadcasters show here to mark its official move into
satellite-based broadband content with the launch of its CyberStar group.
CyberStar aims to use a spatial network of satellites to
provide high-speed transmissions of business applications and "a custom aggregation
of content."
As reported last week, CyberStar is already involved in
lengthy discussions with PrimeStar Inc. for a possible deal that would include
distribution of @Home Network's broadband content.
CyberStar officials declined to elaborate on that last
week.
CyberStar's mission is to provide applications and content
at speeds of up to 27 megabits per second, based on the use of QPSK (quadrature-phase
shift key) satellite modulation over its 30-megahertz transponder slots.
The system is based on openly available IP (Internet
protocol), DVB (Digital Video Broadcast), HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and MPEG
(Motion Picture Expert Group) standards.
Company officials last week called the new service a
suitable one for companies with multiple international locations or with large mobile work
forces.
A residential service will follow next year.
Ronald Maehl, president of CyberStar, said the company was
initially formed "to figure out a way to build and launch Ka-band satellites,"
which ultimately changed into a way to launch a service organization.
CyberStar's initial market segments will include finance,
the retail trade, business services, health care and the small-office/home-office sector,
which Maehl said is "about a $30 billion potential market for us."
Using its satellite network, CyberStar intends to deliver
applications for Intranets and extranets, as well as quickly updating Web-caching servers
and corporate databases. "Distance learning, corporate training and delivery of
multimedia news and information also fall into the applications mix," Maehl said.
