How stable is the Tooway service in bad weather?
At one time heavy rain was thought to be a potential barrier to successful deployment of Ka-band satellite systems. Indeed, the reduction of signal level is so important that it was difficult to guarantee a high-quality service. ViaSat has included in the SurfBeam system satellite air interface technology that mitigates rain fade. The SurfBeam system automatically responds to rain fade with uplink power control and adaptive data coding techniques (Adaptive Coding and Modulation – ACM) that overcome potential outages, while optimising the use of satellite transponder bandwidth. This gives the Tooway network higher reliability compared to other two-way consumer satellite services offered in Europe.
