Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/1756-alcatel-to-conduct-maestro-project-consortium

Alcatel to Conduct MAESTRO Project Consortium

March 27, 2004

In the scope of the European Union MAESTRO Research and Development project (Mobile Applications and sErvices based on Satellite and Terrestrial inteRwOrking), Alcatel Space will coordinate an international consortium of 20 partners addressing the whole mobile multimedia value chain. This partnership will enable the development and implementation of the Satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcast (SDMB) technology. Based on the UMTS standard, this system will complement 3G mobile networks and provide the greatest broadband transmission capacity for multimedia services.

This two-year project is valued at €10.15 M, of which €5.2 M is funded by the European Commission, while studies conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French CNES have contributed to the emergence of the SDMB concept in Europe.

The MAESTRO project coordinator, Nicolas Chuberre from Alcatel Space, explained, “Our vision is to take advantage of the natural assets of satellite systems and ensure the envisaged SDMB system is fully interoperable with terrestrial UMTS standards in order to encourage multimedia usage adoption in Europe and contribute to the successful deployment of 3G.”