EION receives strategic funding from the Canadian Space Agency for the Development of IP over Satellite Technology

Ottawa, Canada; May 19, 2005 - The Canadian Space Agency has recently awarded Ottawa based EION Inc., a provider of wireless communications solutions, nearly $600,000 towards the development of a technology that can traffic engineer IP over Satellite connectivity.  This project is part of the Agency's Space Technology Development Program (STDP), which promotes the design and development of innovative technologies to maintain Canada's position as leader in space technology.  The total project cost for the development of this IPoSat Traffic Engineering technology is $1.1 Million.

"EION was chosen for this project because of its expertise in IP networking, Quality of Service (QoS), traffic managment and ruggedization of its products to operate in extreme environmental conditions," stated Gilles Leclerc, Director General, Space Technologies with the Canadian Space Agency. "They are at the forefront of Canadian companies in IP over Satellite technology development."

The technology being developed by EION will allow SatCom (Satellite Communications) Network Operation Centers (NOCs) the flexibility to fully control IP traffic over Satellite links, with capacity planning, quality of service, congestion management, and provisioning abilities to deliver mutlimedia services, and has a significant business impact to those adopting Satellite as a primary communications infrastructure.

The company has proven itself a leader in deploying satellite based remote community wireless networks in Canada, Latin America and Africa, as with its recent award recognition from the Wireless Communications Association 2005 Wemmie Award.   EION is extending the reach of satellite networks through IP connectivity.  It has already deployed over 1.4Tbps (terabits per second) bandwidth capacity in its wireless community networks, enabling communications services for nearly 20,000 remote users around the world.

"The STDP funding from CSA clearly demonstrates EION's continued strength in delivering highly reliable rugged IP communications technologies.   Partnering with the CSA will put EION and Canadian technology into the global Space communications market, though innovative and advanced technology development programs such as this one" commented Kalai Kalaichelvan, EION's CEO.  He adds "the research and development coming from EION could result in four patents, and lead to commercialization of new products that will benefit Canadian industry."

This technology will allow feature-rich broadband links to enable multimedia services such as Telemedicine, e-learning, and e-commerce in truly isolated communities in Canada's North, resulting in cost savings, improved education and literacy rates, enhanced quality of life and increased productivity.  Not only will communities benefit from this project, but so will Canada's resource industries such as forestry, mining and oil & gas exploration - reducing their operating and logistics costs by transmitting bandwidth intensive data across the globe from remote sites.