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Japanese satellite to provide broadband internet and DTV in Asia

24 February 2008 0:40 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 11 comments

Japan may have taken a long time getting into the space race, but they're quickly making up for lost time. Powered by a rocket designed and built in Japan, they've launched a new satellite which they hope will be able to provide digital television (DTV) and high speed internet to remote areas of the country, as well as serving customers in other parts of Southeast Asia.

The satellite called Kizuna was developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, and Mitsubishi. It can reportedly transmit data at up to 1.2Gbps (Gigabits per second), including both internet and DTV streams.

In addition to the fact that launching a satellite is a relatively quick, if still expensive, way to deploy infrrastructer across a larger area than would be possible with physical cables. For Japan, where earthquakes are a real threat, satellite connections also have the advantage that they will be unaffected in the case of any natural disaster.

"The infrastructure on the ground may not withstand a major earthquake, and remote areas may not have any access to optic-fiber networks," one official said.

Permalink to this article | Topics: HDTV Home Theater

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21Q (Senior Member) 24 February 2008 1:07
As if there weren't enough reasons for me to move to Japan. America should really start adopting more of their technology. Sure we may have done this to a certain extent, but there is still so much more. Back on topic, What I wouldlike to know is if it will be able to connect via regular wifi adapters. Or will it need its own card/PCMCIA? Either way, its a great technology to have. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 24 February 2008 6:05
just think of the limitations and bandwidth throlleting on it you know they will once they sell a few thousand 10Mbit services. Now its a nice first step to overhauling the whole satellite shtick, I wonder tho what will hit first a better land based wireless system or a true high speed satellite system that is not managed by bandwidth nazis? [ + quote]
PetahG (Member) 24 February 2008 12:40
wow...this is amazing..the more i read on this forum the more im amazed with these japs..i want to move to japan like 21Q [ + quote]
PetahG (Member) 24 February 2008 12:40
wow...this is amazing..the more i read on this forum the more im amazed with these japs..i want to move to japan like 21Q [ + quote]
vinny13 (Inactive) 24 February 2008 15:03
*Originally posted by 21Q:* As if there weren't enough reasons for me to move to Japan. America should really start adopting more of their technology. Sure we may have done this to a certain extent, but there is still so much more. Back on topic, What I wouldlike to know is if it will be able to connect via regular wifi adapters. Or will it need its own card/PCMCIA? Either way, its a great technology to have. Lol where are you gonna move? There's no more room! :P [ + quote]
ringwar (Newbie) 24 February 2008 15:38
I live in Japan and there is plenty of room. It's just going to cost ya. A 3 bedroom 1200 square foot house on a lot big enough for 2 cars and your house costs about 350k. And thats in Misawa which is rural Japan. [ + quote]
21Q (Senior Member) 24 February 2008 16:33
Well, I was thinking about Akihabara, or Electric Town. I love places like that and it would be perfect for me. Side Note @ PetahG: Be careful when using the abbreviation Jap, as it's considered a derogatory term stemming from WW2. [ + quote]
PetahG (Member) 24 February 2008 16:59
*Originally posted by 21Q:* Well, I was thinking about Akihabara, or Electric Town. I love places like that and it would be perfect for me. Side Note @ PetahG: Be careful when using the abbreviation Jap, as it's considered a derogatory term stemming from WW2. Sorry, never knew that, and I apologize to whomever I offended..I meant it in a good way [ + quote]
vinny13 (Inactive) 24 February 2008 18:03
*Originally posted by ringwar:* I live in Japan and there is plenty of room. It's just going to cost ya. A 3 bedroom 1200 square foot house on a lot big enough for 2 cars and your house costs about 350k. And thats in Misawa which is rural Japan. Well ya thats what I meant. Costs are so high because of the Population Density ratio... [ + quote]
alch3my (Newbie) 2 March 2008 0:46
6 Mbps upstream for homes users... nice!! http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f14/overview/kizuna_e.html [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 18 April 2008 6:48
This will be fast. I can not wait for this kinda thing to come to OZ :) [ + quote]