This RascomStar service is designed for fixed line telephony (PSTN) in rural, remote and low penetration areas. Subscribers in under-served areas (villages of several hundred inhabitants) can access the RascomStar satellite via our rural terminals, to become connected to the public switched telecom network or other terminals with in the same network. A high-speed internet access option is available. The telecom operator is billed on a per minute of effective traffic; the services are managed by RascomStar through its network stations, which are responsible for the overall management of the GTS (Ground Telecom System) including:
The system has been especially adapted to connect tens of thousand terminals installed in villages and / or small cities to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).
The system supports pre-paid and post-paid accounts, calling cards and pay phones.
As meshed connections are supported, users in villages are able to communicate simultaneously with users in the public switched telephone network potentially via different Gateways, as well as with other locations (e.g. users in neighboring villages) equipped with the same system.
All communications are established dynamically for the duration of each individual call; satellite resources are only allocated for the duration of each call and returned to the bandwidth pool at the end of each call.
The RascomStar Fixed-line Extension Service is linked to the national public switched telephone network provider, with a central Gateway gathering all the calls from the remote site.
Each remote site is composed of:
One 1.2m Ku band antenna with a 0.5W or 3W block up converter and one low noise block
One Skylinx baseband unit able to carry 4 voice channels and one IP data port
A Solar power system with battery, able to sustain power 24/7.
RascomStar terminals are specifically engineered for easy installation in remote areas, in harsh environmental conditions, including situations where there is no energy available.
As such, in their base versions they consist of low power stand-alone VSATs equipped with 4 lines and 1.2m dishes that can be powered from small solar panels. All base unit equipment is designed for outdoor installation and does not require any additional shelters.
The installation process is quick and simple, and does not require sophisticated installation equipment.
RascomStar terminals consist of the following components:
In addition, the high-speed-internet (HSI) is also part of the RascomStar terminal service and is housed in a chassis intended for indoor installation. In this case only the antenna, block up converter and low noise block remain outdoors.
There is a 100BT Ethernet port on the RascomStar terminal to support high-speed internet access.
There is an L-band interface between the block up converter and low noise block, and the baseband unit. For the outdoor version, the baseband block will be directly attached to the antenna mount itself and the RascomStar terminal will be powered from standard AC or 12V DC e.g. solar panels and batteries.
A standard telephone line can also be configured to support telephone cards. Caller’s using telephone cards hear voice prompts e.g. enter PIN number, enter destination number etc. when initiating a call.
A RascomStar terminal provides the choice of two languages, for the voice prompts at the start of each call. A telephone operator selects which two languages are to be supported by the RascomStar terminal.
The baseband block also includes an optional L-band interface, which can be used to connect an external DVB-S receiver.
Connectivity / throughput, as well as the capability to handle multiple calls simultaneously with several
other RascomStar terminals and / or Gateways depends on the RascomStar terminals transmit power.
