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BBC breaking news via Inmarsat
Posted: 14 August 2003
Satellite communications are not new to the BBC. Satellite telephones
were deployed as far back as the 1980s to support remote broadcasts.
By the 1990s, and the First Gulf War in particular, portable satellite
terminals were in use.
They were notable for their bulk, weighing up to 30kgs including
accessories, and were limited vis-à-vis their technological
capabilities too, providing bandwidth adequate only for voice transmissions
and slow data transfers.
‘An important step came in 1991 with the advent of a 64kbit/s
data service from Inmarsat,’ says Mark Tyrell, Manager of
Resources and Development in the Newsgathering department of the
BBC. ‘At that rate we could simulate mobile ISDN connectivity
which in terms of the radio means real-time, broadcast quality audio
from anywhere within the Inmarsat footprint.’ The technology
played an important role in broadcasts from the Balkans and the
liberation of Sarajevo. ‘The kit was still pretty heavy though,’
adds Tyrell.
Another step forward came with the deployment of duplex satellite
communications — that is the ability to both receive and send
at the same time — in the shape of the Inmarsat B service.
Apart from reporting from places of conflict around the world, this
technology came into its own at the BBC with the launch of Radio
Five Live. ‘Crucial to the identity of the new network was
plenty of live News and Sport,’ says Tyrell. ‘That means
bi-directional, broadcast quality mobile communications. We were
able to provide this within certain areas via the BBC’s existing
RF network, but with the Inmarsat technology installed in radio
cars, we had better coverage of the whole of the UK. A car hooked
up to a satellite can go almost anywhere, which the older terrestrial
RF network could not.’
From suitcase to laptop
But the change that marks the introduction of the kind of mobile
communications that the BBC enjoys today came with the launch of
Inmarsat’s Global Area Network (GAN). With GAN, satellite
technology shrunk in size and took a leap forward in terms of usability:
instead of manhandling a large suitcase, reporters only had to pack
a device the size of a small laptop; and instead of set-up times
that might take up to 30 minutes, to say nothing of training ahead
of departure, correspondents could be online in minutes –
with little or no technical support. In addition, the technology
was battery powered and represented a capital cost reduction of
around 25 per cent.
The new devices also increased the bandwidth available to journalists,
since although any single unit operates at the old 64kbit/s rate,
they can be readily linked up in parallel to halve or quarter transfer
times, or double or quadruple the bandwidth available. Bandwidth
via satellite at this level appeared at about the same time as video
conferencing technology that could acceptably compress moving images
into 64 and 128kbit/s streams. Put the two together, and the BBC
has the videophone that we are already so familiar with.
‘The difference this all makes is substantial,’ says
Tyrell. ‘The results were clear for all to see in terms of
the extent to which GANs featured in our coverage of the Second
Gulf War. For the first time, satellite technology could be deployed
on a massive scale. And although the video quality is poorer than
terrestrial broadcasts, news editors and viewers alike are happy
with it in difficult situations because of the immediacy it brings
to breaking events. On BBC News 24 they were conducting up to 30
videoconferences a day at the peak. Currently we now have well over
one hundred units deployed around the world, up from a dozen or
so of the older models.’
A complete satellite-based tool kit
The BBC has adopted other ways of utilising Inmarsat. For
example, ‘store and forward’ is a facility that overcomes
the poorer quality ‘live via videophone’ two-way transmission.
Reporters shoot their footage as usual, and edit it in the field,
to produce the final package for broadcast. This is then uploaded
as a data file: a three-minute clip of broadcast quality typically
takes something over an hour to upload.
Another application provides remote connectivity to newsroom IT
systems. This is important so that journalists in the field can
be aware of the latest twists and turns in a story, via the news
feeds and reports which are on newsroom systems, and so contextualise
their own broadcasts to the minute. The BBC were evaluating Inmarsat’s
newest service, Regional BGAN, a 144kbit/s secure shared IP service
which looks ideal for this application. ‘Stories involve many
elements and maintaining an up-to-the-minute view of them all used
to be a problem for broadcast media,’ explains Tyrell. ‘This
problem has now been dealt with.’ The system also gives reporters
a universal, remote email facility, though to use other office applications
by satellite the BBC is waiting for the development of WAN connectivity.
‘The point is that with this kind of technology, editors
for the first time have a complete connectivity tool box that can
handle any scenario they face,’ Tyrell says. Radio cars, which
although they may use alternatives are equipped with Inmarsat to
ensure global coverage and provide studio quality audio. ‘At
the 64kbit/s rate there is no real alternative to Inmarsat if you
want mobile global reach,’ says Tyrell. Video telephones run
at the same rate, or use devices in parallel, for live, if jerky
television broadcasts. And ‘store and forward’ means
that high quality video can also be got back to the studio in the
absence of a traditional DSNG (Digital Satellite Newsgathering uplink).
‘It is the ease with which correspondents can broadcast live
by satellite which is so key. Hence the latest mini-revolution in
news reporting which we have witnessed,’ Tyrell concludes.
‘Journalists can pack all they need into a rucksack and be
ready to report from anywhere on the planet. Already it is hard
to imagine newsgathering without that facility, and it simply would
not have been possible without the Inmarsat services.’
About Inmarsat Limited
- Inmarsat Ltd owns and operates a global satellite network and
delivers its solutions through a distribution network of approximately
260 distributors and other service providers operating in around
80 countries worldwide to end users in the maritime, land and
aeronautical sectors.
- Inmarsat Ltd has a portfolio of satellite solutions, including
voice, fax, intranet and Internet access and other data services.
- Inmarsat Ltd has over 22 years of experience in designing,
implementing and operating satellite networks.
- At the end of March 2002, over 243,000 terminals were registered
to access Inmarsat Ltd’s services.
- Inmarsat Ltd is also supported by partners in the fields of
equipment manufacture, software provision and systems integration.
- Inmarsat Ltd is a subsidiary of Inmarsat Ventures plc.
- Inmarsat is the exclusive global partner of the FIA World Rally
Championships 2002.
For more information see http://www.inmarsat.com.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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