Telesat announced today it had awarded a contract to Germany’s QEST Quantenelektronische Systeme GmbH to develop a commercial aviation flat panel antenna.
In the news release Telesat said that “QEST will extend their patented FPA antenna technology for Telesat Lightspeed, including the development of the transmit and receive antenna apertures, RF components and the antenna control unit.”
Aneesh Dalvi, Vice President of Lightspeed Systems Development for Telesat said, “We’re excited to work with QEST to bring their innovative antenna technology to market for the Telesat Lightspeed network. Building on our open architecture antenna ecosystem approach, QEST’s technology is well-positioned to provide LEO optimized solutions as well as multi-network and multi-orbit operations, providing increased options and flexibility for inflight connectivity service providers and their customers.”
Michael Seifried, CTO of QEST added, “QEST is confident that Telesat’s exceptional network architecture and maximum throughput capabilities position it as a future-oriented and competitive network. We believe that the superior antenna technology of QEST, combined with the Telesat Lightspeed network, will deliver the high data rates required for the demanding aviation market. QEST is excited to collaborate on Telesat’s dynamic and flexible network infrastructure to transform the aviation industry.”
The announcement follows last weeks news that Telesat had selected Intellian to design and manufacture Ka-band flat panel user terminals. The Intellian flat panel antennas will be used for “fixed enterprise applications, wireless backhaul, government, land mobility and maritime connectivity.”