Satcom Global announced a significant enhancement to its Ku-band Aura VSAT network, with the addition of the Eutelsat 174A (E174A) North Pacific and South Pacific satellite beams.

The new coverage will strengthen and extend the Aura network across the North Pacific and Oceania regions, supporting the high-quality connectivity demands of a diverse range of maritime sectors including shipping, commercial fishing, workboat, offshore supply and leisure.

The E174A North Pacific beam will benefit customers sailing Transpacific routes and operating out of the West Coast of North America, providing an additional layer of satellite coverage over key US maritime regions such as Alaska, Vancouver, Seattle, and the major ports in California, ultimately extending coverage down to the Western coast of Mexico.

The E174A South Pacific beam will overlap existing Aura network beams covering Western and Northern Australia, enhancing Ku-band service quality for vessels operating in those areas, as well as extending service coverage to the East of New Zealand.

Satcom Global has secured the high capacity E174A North and South Pacific beams with a guaranteed level of service quality (Committed Information Rate), with the option to scale up capacity, futureproofing emerging requirements. Adding new satellite beams to the Aura network is part of Satcom Global’s approach to deliver the most inclusive geographic coverage, as well as the highest quality connectivity to customers, with overlapping beams that provide both redundancy and abundant capacity.

The North and South Pacific E174A satellite beams were added to the Aura network at the beginning of April 2021. These most recent enhancements follow the introduction of the NSS-6 satellite to the Aura network in November 2020, covering the North Pacific Ocean, and the addition of Astra 4A Nordic and SES-12 IOR beams in March 2021.

The Eutelsat 174A satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space, is located at 174° East, offering extensive coverage and high-bandwidth capability over the Asia Pacific region via a payload of Ku-band transponders accessing interconnecting beams.