July 8, 2011

Globecomm Systems Inc. announced that the Company has recently completed the transition and expansion of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration・s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) Satellite Broadcast Network (SBN) to Digital Video Broadcast ・ Satellite ・ Second Generation (DVB-S2) under a subcontract to Raytheon Company. The SBN is a one-way, point-to-multipoint satellite broadcast system that distributes large amounts of data collected and produced at NOAA's national centers to Weather Forecast Offices (WFO・s) used by forecasters to generate watches, alerts and warnings of various types of severe weather in a timely manner.

In order to transition the network, Globecomm upgraded the primary and backup Master Ground Stations (MGS) with Newtec IP Satellite Modulators and CCM/VCM/ACM Shaper and Encapsulators. Globecomm also deployed 300 Novra DVB-S2 IP receivers to WFOs. The DVB-S2 technology deployed supports Variable Coding Modulation (VCM), which will allow NWS to disseminate other types of weather products with different service levels. In addition, the SBN was expanded to support up to 30 Mbps of data. This upgrade will improve network efficiency and performance.

The National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas, for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. NWS data and products form a national information database and infrastructure which can be used by other governmental agencies, the private sector, the public, and the global community.

Alan Henderson, Globecomm・s Vice President of Engineering, said ―Globecomm takes great pride in having served Raytheon and the National Weather service over the past 6 years providing robust satellite-based data dissemination for such a mission-critical task. This upgrade not only provides the NWS with the additional capacity required to deliver more weather data and imagery, it also allows the NWS to consolidate their weather dissemination systems.