Palmerston North-based national solutions provider Advantage is adding satellite connectivity from Sat.One to its portfolio, bringing new enterprise-grade internet options to organisations across New Zealand. Sat.One is the master ANZ distributor of Eutalsat OneWeb Low Earth Orbit satellite. Where appropriate, Advantage will recommend Sat.One connectivity as part of solutions delivered to its customers.

Advantage Managing Director Brad Pearpoint says the goal is introducing stable connectivity anywhere in New Zealand with service level guarantees. “Where Sat.One differs is that its connectivity options are specifically designed for business use and supplied with associated support and assurances.”

There are two prominent use cases for this kind of connection. The first is as a fully redundant link, independent of any terrestrial network. “When Hurricane Gabrielle hit Gisborne, the cellular and fibre networks went down, leaving those areas stranded from a connectivity point of view,” Pearpoint notes. “With Sat.One as a failover, organisations in the region would have maintained their communications.”

The second use case is rural connectivity. Despite industry and government initiatives, the cost of extending land-based solutions to New Zealand’s sparsely populated regions remains prohibitive.

“At the same time, our primary industries are among the biggest export earners and comprise 7 percent of GDP. With better connectivity, the full power of information technology is put within the reach of every Kiwi business – whether in Auckland, or out in Muzzle Station,”Pearpoint says.

Perth-headquartered Sat.One offers connectivity from several satellite constellation operators including Eutalsat OneWeb. Its services include Business Access with multiple interconnect options, a Committed Information Rate crucial for business communications, and operates on KU and KA bands which mitigate rain fade and cloud coverage.

A range of user terminal options are available from recognised industry leaders Hughes, Kymeta and Intellian, serving a wide range of use cases and connectivity requirements for land-fixed, land-mobile and marine applications

A unique feature of Sat.One’s connectivity is its Resilient service. Taking advantage of the multiple constellation services within its portfolio, Resilient delivers ‘multi-constellation’ failover for true redundancy where critical applications demand it.

Sat.One VP of Sales and Revenue Simon Barlow says it is connecting customers in ‘hard to reach’ places across Australia and New Zealand through solution providers like Advantage. “It’s 2024 and there is a persistent digital divide leaving behind our primary industries whether in the outback, out in the ocean, or in rural New Zealand. Satellite technology, and particularly the high-speed low-latency connectivity offered by LEO connectivity, almost instantly solves this problem for a realistic cost to the customer and the provider. And when farmers, miners, commercial fishers and other organisations have reliable connectivity, they have an opportunity for massive productivity and safety gains,”

Even those with ready access to terrestrial services now have enterprise-class failover services available, he adds. “For always-on redundancy, our services delivered by Advantage provide an added level of assurance, so connectivity is no longer a weak link in business continuity plans.”

Pearpoint says through its Connect division Advantage provides local support for Sat.One from its 24/7 Network Operations located in Wellington. “The result is a customisable, tailored enterprise-grade network solution, with features including Static IP, cloud integration, private networking, and MPLS support. With a distinct requirement for this kind of connectivity, we’re excited at extending our solutions offering for the benefit of our customers, particularly those in the regions.”