For many industries, 2009 was a challenging year that gave a hefty financial blow to bottom lines. But this holiday season, things are much cheerier – especially in industries like satellite.

 

“I think 2010 should be an even better year than 2009,” said Dr. Leslie Klein, president and CEO of C-COM (News - Alert), an Ottawa-based portable satellite antenna provider, in a soon-to-be-released podcast interview. During the interview, Klein highlighted a number of accomplishments made by his company.

 

The year 2009 included the release of a state-of-the-art flyaway antenna, a foray into new international markets and an investment in solar energy.

 

The release of the iNetVu Flyaway antenna system was one of the year’s most notable hallmarks, Klein told TMCnet. The 1200-series Flyaway model features a compact, portable, fully motorized tripod based platform. The antenna, which can be set up and made operational in fewer than 15 minutes, automatically locates the satellite without any manual intervention. Aluminum cases allow for easy transportation.

 

“It’s an antenna system that can be assembled without any tools and in under ten minutes, and can be shipped on an aircraft,” Klein told TMCnet. “It’s a fairly light antenna system designed for military and various disaster management applications.”

 

The iNetVu is especially helpful for agencies that want to use mobile communications equipment to report on-the-spot news. Klein said the low-cost iNetVu satellite antenna system lets reporters stream video directly from a site. What’s more, the technology can also be used for Internet access and e-mail.

 

“A reporter can drive a vehicle with our antenna on the roof to a site and be operational in two minutes and ready to stream video over satellite right into the studio for live broadcast without knowing anything about satellite technology,” Klein told TMCnet in an earlier interview. “Once the report is complete, they can drive away and repeat the process from another location.”

And when a reporter is on location and her technology needs a juicing-up, what better way than with a solar-battery operated system?

 

That’s the thinking behind C-COM’s low-cost, easy-to-use, solar-powered iNetVu SolarPack, which made its debut at this year’s SATCON Expo, Oct. 14-15 in New York City.

 

Reliant on solar energy for power, the iNetVu SolarPack S1600 is a portable solar power system that can supply up to 600W of quiet AC power to operate a complete iNetVu Flyaway System. The S1600 system consists of an advanced 19-inch mount electronic inverter and a rugged case that can be wheeled over rough terrain. It houses two foldable solar panels, a charge controller, a battery and three standard DC outlets.  

 

“It uses solar blankets to power the flyaway antenna system and any other type of antenna system,” Klein told TMCnet. “It will be used in many remote situations where power is not available.”

 

Speaking of remote locations, Klein said one of C-COM’s highlights was making inroads in the India and Pakistani markets in military and satellite news gathering in those regions, and signing up resellers and operating in South America.

 

Want to learn more? Stay tuned for the forthcoming interview with Klein, which will be available next week in full, via podcast.