SES AmeriCom operates REDiSat from its AMC-6 satellite. Launched in October 2000, AMC-6 is the company's fifth hybrid C- and Ku-band satellite and operates at 72 degrees west longitude.

From this position in the eastern part of the U.S. orbital arc, both the C- and Ku-bands of the satellite provide service to government, VSAT networks and entertainment customers in the continental United States, Mexico, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean.

REDiSat is a system capable of variable-bandwidth management. It actively allocates satellite space bandwidth as needed to correspond to disaster and other emergency situations. The system is built on TDM/TDMA architecture, enabling multiple users to share a pool of Ku bandwidth set aside for REDiSat subscribers on the AMC-6 satellite.

The network is affordable because the customer pays a small amount for the initial equipment, a minimal monthly subscription fee to secure access to the network, and a fee for bandwidth when the service is required.

REDiSat supplies high-speed broadband Internet connections based on an iDirect platform-based service, and can transmit and receive data and voice transmissions.

REDiSat is a proactive, secure, stable and flexible satellite-based communications network that is more reliable than a terrestrial-based network prone to service outages during a natural disaster, the company said in a news release.

Customers can choose from two levels of service that are dynamically chosen by the customer based upon their needs when the communications are activated.

SES will enhance the ability of REDiSat subscribers' sites to respond quickly by pre-deploying the proper antenna and other equipment. The equipment located on site includes a pre-aligned, removable 1.2-meter Ku-band antenna with non-penetrating roof mount, a low-noise block-down converter, a two-watt block-up converter and a satellite modem.

"After extensive interviews, inquiries and research with private enterprises and government organizations, our REDiSat Network embodies the three facets they deemed vital if they were to employ a satellite-based emergency network," said Robert Phelan, SES AmeriCom's senior vice president for market and business solutions. "Those facets are affordability, quick access and response, and expandable bandwidth."

"The REDiSat Network's 'always on' feature with both voice and data transmission capabilities plus redundancy will provide their clients with essential connectivity when it's most needed," said Christopher Baugh, president of Northern Sky Research.

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