Kymeta Achieves Significant Milestone in Delivering Terabyte Connectivity to the Car of the Future
February 22, 2017
Kymeta announced that its 20 cm mTenna® satellite antenna subsystem module (ASM) for the consumer connected car industry, successfully connected to the Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) satellite constellation. This successful test continues Kymeta’s progress toward bringing high throughput, secure mobile connectivity to the automotive industry and follows the partnership announced with Toyota Motor Corporation at the North American International Auto Show in 2016.
“This latest test showcases the benefits of high throughput satellite connectivity for cars,” said Dr. Nathan Kundtz, Chief Executive Officer of Kymeta. “Only our innovative technology can be seamlessly integrated into the roof of a vehicle and will deliver the capacity that high throughput satellites can provide worldwide while supporting new immersive and autonomous driving capabilities.”
“We are delighted to see that Kymeta continues to make progress since our partnership announcement last year. This test is another positive milestone achieved and an important step closer to the future reality of a secure, high bandwidth communications system with a global coverage area for connected cars,” said a spokesperson at Toyota Motor Corporation.
The test showcased that Kymeta mTenna technology for consumer vehicles could successfully connect to Intelsat’s EpicNG satellite network. The test also demonstrated that Kymeta mTenna technology can transmit and receive data with a single aperture, connect to the internet and access YouTube videos, and conduct a Skype™ call, all within its first attempt. Currently, the only way to take advantage of High Throughput Satellites (HTS) is with a large, traditional satellite dish with moving parts. The Kymeta satellite solution will eliminate the need for a gimbaled dish and provide terabyte level capacity to cars allowing broadband level connectivity even in areas that have no terrestrial coverage.
The test is the first step in making a connected car its most secure and connected at a global scale. This successful testing was conducted with Intelsat, the world’s leading provider of satellite services, which has a partnership agreement with Kymeta to enable satellite connectivity for the auto industry.