ViaLite provides SES with Cross-Border Solution

Radio frequency over fiber optic links are a great solution for moving high frequency analog signals over a long distance, but solutions need expert planning, design and installation to get the best performance. When SES needed a long distance link from the European Space Agency Redu station in Belgium to the SES site in Luxembourg, ViaLite’s experience in the market and long distance link solutions made the company a winning choice for the project.

SES required a long distance link system which provided a high dynamic range in bandwidth and could be controlled remotely by SES operations staff. The distance between the SES site and the Redu station is over 120 km and crosses over the border between Belgium and Luxembourg.

ViaLite’s DWDM long distance link system was the chosen solution; installed at the two sites, with a third site at the border required for signal amplification and interconnect between the two countries. The technology used is capable of connecting sites that can be hundreds of kilometers apart and has full bandwidth capability from 700 MHz through to 2450 MHz. As part of the system, optical amplifiers, optical switches, multiplexers and de-multiplexers were supplied, as well as dispersion compensation module and delay lines; provided to help with optimizing and balancing.

Steve Jones, a Senior Systems Engineer at SES, commented on the results: “We are over the moon, we couldn’t ask for more. ViaLite were extremely supportive and most importantly, it works!”

Amair Khan, from ViaLite, said: “It was a great project to work on. It’s rare to have the opportunity to deploy a fiber link across country borders. The solution we provided was adaptable in order to compensate for optical losses throughout the fiber system.”