Kizuna: Japan’s Ultra-High-Speed Satellite Internet

As if the regular 100Mbps connections are not enough for Japan’s residential broadband users, a new satellite internet service has just been launched to deliver ultra high-speed broadband connectivity to the country.

The satellite, codenamed “Kizuna“, was sent to space by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency last February 23, 2008:

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Wideband InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite “KIZUNA” (WINDS) by the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 14 (H-IIA F14) at 5:55 p.m. on February 23, 2008 (Japan Standard Time, JST) from the Tanegashima Space Center.

The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, at about 28 minutes and 3 seconds after liftoff, the separation of the KIZUNA was confirmed. {source: JAXA}

Once deployed, the service will deliver a staggering speeds of 155Mbps downstream (upgradable to 1.2Gbps!) and 6Mbps upstream. Japan currently leads in internet broadband speeds worldwide with a media rate of 61Mbps. The satellite internet service will further bump that figure higher.

The Philippine Government also has a similar project called the Cyber Education Project (CEP or CyberEd) although it was more aimed for on-demand or live video feeds to elementary and high school students nationwide. It has a projected budget of Php26.5 billion which is a hefty price tag. This is also a separate but overlapping project from the NBN-ZTE deal.

On a related note, the Kizuna satellite has two antennae — one for the Japan region and another for the South East Asian region which is good news to us since the Philippines is on the radar screen.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

18 Responses

  1. Avatar for ver santander ver santander says:

    kindly send me a quotation/ price of your product if installed in castillejos,zambales,philippines

  2. Avatar for Michael Michael says:

    i think the cost will be much more expensive for the philippines. the satellite internet provided by a country in indochine(dunno the exact country) cost here about 50k for the installation only. so i think the cost of this will be higher.

  3. Avatar for Renato Aguinillo Renato Aguinillo says:

    hOW MUCH IT COST TO ACCESS IN YOUR SATELLITE INTERNET?

  4. Avatar for dencio dencio says:

    maganda po ito kailan po ito mabibili sa masa…nais ko magkaroon nang isa..para masusubukan

  5. Avatar for Ceejay Ceejay says:

    There will be one receiver/transmitter node in the Philippines for the WINDS project. It will be installed at ASTI-DOST in UP Diliman.

  6. Avatar for Michael Michael says:

    Japan’s mobile satellite internet launch is fantastic news…if you live in that country. Sadly the US is sorely lacking in speed and affordability when compared to many other countries. If this launch proves to be a success I would expect something like this here in the states within the next 5 years but don’t expect it to be affordable.

  7. Avatar for qwestion qwestion says:

    try Qwest. hehehehe

  8. Avatar for issai issai says:

    i just checked availability, it’s not yet available in our area :(

  9. Avatar for Derek Derek says:

    @issai, Verizon FiOS is worth its price. :) Maybe you should try it :D

  10. Avatar for issai issai says:

    is Yap a troll?

    but cool, now i want to live in japan. comcast here is just plain expensive.

  11. Avatar for Yap Yap says:

    Don’t believe one optimistic word from any public figure about the economy or humanity in general. They are all part of the problem. Its like a game of Monopoly. In America, the richest 1% now hold 1/2 OF ALL UNITED STATES WEALTH. Unlike ‘lesser’ estimates, this includes all stocks, bonds, cash, and material assets held by America’s richest 1%. Even that filthy pig Oprah acknowledged that it was at about 50% in 2006. Naturally, she put her own ‘humanitarian’ spin on it. Calling attention to her own ‘good will’. WHAT A DISGUSTING HYPOCRITE SLOB. THE RICHEST 1% HAVE LITERALLY MADE WORLD PROSPERITY ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE. Don’t fall for all of their ‘humanitarian’ CRAP. ITS A SHAM. THESE PEOPLE ARE CAUSING THE SAME PROBLEMS THEY PRETEND TO CARE ABOUT. Ask any professor of economics. Money does not grow on trees. The government can’t just print up more on a whim. At any given time, there is a relative limit to the wealth within ANY economy of ANY size. So when too much wealth accumulates at the top, the middle class slip further into debt and the lower class further into poverty. A similar rule applies worldwide. The world’s richest 1% now own over 40% of ALL WORLD WEALTH. This is EVEN AFTER you account for all of this ‘good will’ ‘humanitarian’ BS from celebrities and executives. ITS A SHAM. As they get richer and richer, less wealth is left circulating beneath them. This is the single greatest underlying cause for the current US recession. The middle class can no longer afford to sustain their share of the economy. Their wealth has been gradually transfered to the richest 1%. One way or another, we suffer because of their incredible greed. We are talking about TRILLIONS of dollars. Transfered FROM US TO THEM. Over a period of about 27 years. Thats Reaganomics for you. The wealth does not ‘trickle down’ as we were told it would. It just accumulates at the top. Shrinking the middle class and expanding the lower class. Causing a domino effect of socio-economic problems. But the rich will never stop. They will never settle for a reasonable share of ANYTHING. They will do whatever it takes to get even richer. Leaving even less of the pie for the other 99% of us to share. At the same time, they throw back a few tax deductable crumbs and call themselves ‘humanitarians’. IT CAN’T WORK THIS WAY. This is going to end just like a game of Monopoly. The current US recession will drag on for years and lead into the worst US depression of all time. The richest 1% will live like royalty while the rest of us fight over jobs, food, and gasoline. Crime, poverty, and suicide will skyrocket. So don’t fall for all of this PR CRAP from Hollywood, Pro Sports, and Wall Street PIGS. ITS A SHAM. Remember: They are filthy rich EVEN AFTER their tax deductable contributions. Greedy pigs. Now, we are headed for the worst economic and cultural crisis of all time. SEND A “THANK YOU” NOTE TO YOUR FAVORITE MILLIONAIRE. ITS THEIR FAULT. I’m not discounting other factors like China, sub-prime, or gas prices. But all of those factors combined still pale in comparison to that HUGE transfer of wealth to the rich. Anyway, those other factors are all related and further aggrivated because of GREED. If it weren’t for the OBSCENE distribution of wealth within our country, there never would have been such a market for sub-prime to begin with. Which by the way, was another trick whipped up by greedy bankers and executives. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. The credit industry has been ENDORSED by people like Oprah, Ellen, Dr Phil, and many other celebrities. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. So don’t fall for their ‘humanitarian’ BS. ITS A SHAM. NOTHING BUT TAX DEDUCTABLE PR CRAP. Bottom line: The richest 1% will soon tank the largest economy in the world. It will be like nothing we’ve ever seen before. and thats just the beginning. Greed will eventually tank every major economy in the world. Causing millions to suffer and die. Oprah, Angelina, Brad, Bono, and Bill are not part of the solution. They are part of the problem. EXTREME WEALTH HAS MADE WORLD PROSPERITY ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE. WITHOUT WORLD PROSPERITY, THERE WILL NEVER BE WORLD PEACE OR ANYTHING EVEN CLOSE. GREED KILLS. IT WILL BE OUR DOWNFALL. Of course, the rich will throw a fit and call me a madman. Of course, their ignorant fans will do the same. You have to expect that. But I speak the truth. If you don’t believe me, then copy this entry and run it by any professor of economics or socio-economics. Then tell a friend. Call the local radio station. Re-post this entry or put it in your own words. Be one of the first to predict the worst economic and cultural crisis of all time and explain its cause. WE ARE IN BIG TROUBLE.

  12. Avatar for jhay jhay says:

    Speed is one thing, reliability and quality of customer support are two things our current ISPs really, really need to work on.

    I hope KIZUNA will help us maintain connectivity in case those undersea cables gets snapped again.

  13. Avatar for Derek Derek says:

    yeah highspeed but you will need a giant antenna on your roof to get 1.2Gbps and your harddrive cannot read and write near that speed.

  14. Avatar for SEOcontest2008 SEOcontest2008 says:

    That sounds good, I hope that we could also experience that speed. ;-)

  15. Avatar for BrianB BrianB says:

    He, he, I panicked. I thought it’s beng blocked or something. False alarm.

  16. Avatar for BrianB BrianB says:

    Abe, what happened to quezon.ph?

  17. Avatar for Mindanao Bob Mindanao Bob says:

    Any ideas when (or if) that second SE Asia antenna will be put to use, and the price of such an account? I’m salivating!

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