With the new teleport, Astrium Services can now offer its government and commercial customers an increased satellite communications capability, particularly for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony services, Internet access, company intranet and networks, and secured VPN (virtual private networks).

The services are intended for customers who need to communicate between their European head offices and their dispersed locations all over the world. The teleport offers a specific solution to any customer's particular need.

Astrium Services has set up a dedicated unit in Toulouse to develop and market teleport services and associated networks solutions.

In particular, the company is responsible for setting up and implementing the technical offer: adapting the services offered by the teleport to specific customer requirements, designing and installing remote station networks at the sites concerned, and operations, maintenance and customer support.

The first customer is the Economat des Armees (the French equivalent of the NAAFI in the UK) of the French Ministry of Defence, which chose Astrium Services to provide the PASSEREL telecommunications services for the personal needs of troops involved in external operations.

Based on the iDirect hub technology, which optimises the satellite resource, and thus allows a competitive service cost, the Toulouse teleport has three large Earth stations currently operational: two in C band and one in Ku-band. Its favourable geographic location serves a very wide area from Asia to the Americas, and several satellites can be used according to the geographical requirements of the customers' networks.

The teleport has the latest IP technology, provides billing systems and secure transmissions, and is interconnected with the public switched telephone networks (PSTN) and Internet backbone. The teleport is operated by the London Satellite Exchange Ltd, a subsidiary of Astrium Services, which has set up a dedicated 24/7 unit at its centre in Toulouse. This company also provides the customer support.

For Eric Beranger, the CEO of Astrium Services, "the decision to invest in and build a teleport in Toulouse shows our determination to innovate and respond to our customers' needs. With the services offered by the teleport, we can now add another dimension to our already extensive range of services. We are proud to have built the first teleport in Toulouse, and to have contributed to the creation of jobs and of satellite communication service activities in the town."

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