M.B.I. continues its efforts in the development of S-band technologies
M.B.I. played a major role at the Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcellona
After the encouraging results of the experimentation carried out in the second half of 2008, M.B.I. continues its efforts in the research and development of S-band technologies in co-operation with Europe's major companies in the sector.
During Barcelona's recent Mobile World Congress (16-19 February), M.B.I. configured the most important demonstrator of mobile television services. The demonstrations carried out during the Congress were sucessful and showed potential applications of the new tehncology on board vehicles.
The new satellite W2A will be launched into geostationary orbit on 28th March 2009. This joint venture between Eutelsat and SES-Astra, two of Europe's major satellite operators, will offer S-band capacity all over Europe. S-band opens the way to new applications for the distribution of content and for two-way satellite communication on small mobile terminals which can operate on board any type of vehicle. The terminals can be connected to the active security management for transport networks and can be used in combination with the new Galileo satellite navigation system.
In 2009, M.B.I. will be still engaged in the development of the new technology. As part of the Project J-Ortigia of the European Space Agency, M.B.I. will continue the experimentation of broadcast services and state-of-the-art relays. The number of relays included in the pilot network in Tuscany will be increased from three to five, thus extending the coverage to the Provinces of Pisa and Lucca as well as to the highway "Firenze-Mare". In addition, M.B.I. will start the development of platforms for interactive services that can operate on board any type of vehicles. Within a few years, real-time information, such as traffic reports, weather forecast and tourist information, will be available on displays inside cars. The information will be updated from operating centres as well as directly from nearby cars.