Case Studies

Italian Railway Network

The mobile Uplink VSAT station represents one of the best satelite connectivity solutions available. Mobility permits using the facility from any location to provide services for data IP, telephony and video streaming. To support relief operations for natural disasters, or in order to operate in risk zones, mobile VSAT represent the best solution for all problems related to connectivity, anywhere in Italy but also in Europe. The integrated satellite station permits working with IP protocol, and therefore to connect to local networks, for example linking a press office with another private station or gateway on the satellite network. By using suitable implementation modules it is possible to interface to hospital phone switchboards, agencies, telecommunication companies to ensure that, in case of a natural calamity, phone and first aid services can be restored.

MPEG4 live streaming at "Giro d'Italia"

In occasion of the 84° "Giro d' Italia" MediaNET has been in charge, on behalf of the newspaper "Gazetta dello Sport" and Eutelsat, of the codification and direct Internet transmission of the event's video stream. The main challenge was to offer an alternative to traditional television broadcasting, with the possibility to choose what to see, and when. The 84° "Giro d' Italia" has been the main test bench for the new Multimedia Platform of Eutelsat and OpenSKY. The end users connected to this innovative satellite platform were able to test the new multimedia broadband technology, while watching the "Giro" through a standard parabolic antenna linked to their PC, using the new Mpeg4 format with television quality, and being able to interact directly with the feed provider, and surfing the Internet at 700Kb per second! MediaNET has been in charge of of the direct Internet streaming of the event for all those who did not have a satellite OpenSKY card but only a standard ISDN or ADSL connection to the Web.

Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs – Civil Protection

The satellite antenna system by MediaNET meets the highest relative and detailed quality specifications for reliability, performance and simplicity of configuration. This antenna solution represents one of the most interesting optionss to offer quick bidirectional satellite connectivity in every place and condition. It is suitable for all those situations where it is not possible to proceed with the installation of fixed antennas due to technical or architectonic constrains, related to the space available, to the necessary permissions for fixed installations, to safety, as well as for all the situations where, for reasons related to the protection of the artistic and cultural assets, it is not possible to proceed in any other way. The repositionable antenna system VSAT is deployed like a normal portable device, equipped with a fastening system to attach it to a transport vehicle, and can be transported by any holder of a B driving license. The support system can be easily configured for operations, and the comfortable and fast tracking system permits quickly optimizing the satellite link. The vehicle can be equipped with an automatic tracking GPS device.

Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs - Prefectures

MediaNET, on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs, manages a network connection among the 20 Prefectures of the principal Italian regional capital cities, to allow, on the occasion of the Bicentennial of the "Istituto Prefettizio", a high quality audiovisual connection between the central office and the various Prefectures. With the purpose to offer a reliable and at the same time upgradable service, a mixed DVB and IP receiving system has been chosen and installed at the Prefectures. Thanks to a single parabolic antenna, endowed with double LNB, the Prefectures will receive both the satellite signals from the family of satellites Hot Bird at 13° east, and the data IP coming from the multimedia base OpenSKY, at 7°est. This allows the Prefectures to receive the normal satellite channels includingTV DVB in Mpeg-2 services, and at the same time to receive Broadband Satellite Internet and the new digital thematic channels in Mpeg-4 in OpenSKY. MediaNET has been able to achieve in a few days the preparation and testing phases, and to make operational 20 receiving posts in the different Prefectures. Using mobile means, on 24th of June the first transmission between the central Ministry office and the various Prefectures has been achieved, and remote participants have been able to follow the inaugural address of Minister Scajola and Minister Gasparri.

Citta' della scienza

In the Science City ("Città della Scienza") of Naples, built in the area that hosted the factories of Bagnoli, the area "Science Center" has been opened on November 23rd 2001. The Science Center, the first one in Italy, is a "live museum", where science, art, architecture and technology blend together in an innovative next-generation scientific museum. The Science Centre has been inaugurated with a thematic communications show, entitled "signs, symbols and signals" and involving all aspects of communications, new technologies and methods for broadband Internet communications. MediaNET, in collaboration with Eutelsat, has taken part in this demonstration as technology partner, making its know-how and its human resources available to realize the direct transmission of the inaugural videoconference. The videoconferencing solution of MediaNET represents the state of the art in the sector. The possibility to manage multicast videoconferences, sharing documents and electronic signature and booking satellite band "on demand" positions MediaNET technology as one of the best choices for today's distance communications.

Agenzia Spaziale Italiana

The “Futuristic Space Technologies”, promoted by ASI, the Italian Space Agency, in collaboration with the Area Science Park in Trieste, has been the first of a series of meetings in which experts in the space sector discussed future space technologies. MediaNET has managed the live streaming transmission of the event, using two satellite platforms, VSAT and DVB-IP, different but perfectly integrated for this purpose. In fact the audiovisual signals were encoded in real-time inside the Science Park and transmitted through a VSAT satellite link (Satellite W1) to the satellite HUB Eutelsat in Paris, where the stream was encapsulated with DVB protocol and transmitted in multicast broadband to all users of the satellite IP platform (Satellite W3).