Europe Online, one of the world’s first and largest Broadband via Satellite operators now celebrating its tenth year, announced today that the European Patent office has granted it the European Patent for “Integrated High-Speed Terrestrial and Satellite Communications Systems for Internet and Other Uses”.   The inventors are Candace Johnson, the founder of Europe Online, and Dr. Angus Lord and Takeshi Martinez.  The patent was first applied for on April 08, 1999.

The field of the invention relates to systems and methods for managing the delivery of a plurality of types of data content to data users, and more particularly, to systems and methods for managing the allocation of bandwidth resources for the transmission and delivery of a plurality of types of data content to data users via a satellite telecommunications network.

One objective of the present invention is to provide systems and methods that take advantage of the broadband resources available in satellite telecommunication network systems to deliver IP (Internet Protocol) data content to data users at rates of speed that may not be available in traditional terrestrially-based Internet communication networks.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide systems and methods that are able to deliver non- IP data content, such as films and video on demand as well as MPEG streams of audio or video digital content.  Another objective is to provide systems and methods that take advantage of the multicasting capabilities of satellite communication network systems so as to be able to simultaneously deliver data content to a multitude of data users with a single transmission of data content.

Additionally, to take further advantage of the multicasting capabilities of satellite telecommunication networks, methods for queuing the delivery of digital data content to data users are disclosed in the present invention.

Finally, in order to facilitate the delivery of a plurality of types of data content to data users via a satellite telecommunication networks, an integrated communications system manager provides bi-directional control and signaling capability interconnecting a plurality of diverse bandwidth-originating communications networks, an integrated high speed data content manager and a distribution network.

“We are enormously pleased that our innovation and hard work over the last years, often in the face of challenging circumstances and time, have been recognized by this patent grant,” said Candace Johnson, Founder and President of Europe Online Investments S.A.

“In particular, we are pleased that as a result of our perseverance, never giving up, never accepting no for an answer, and never going away even when others tried to make us go away that mass-consumers from the UK to the Urals and from Finland to the Middle East can enjoy Europe Online’s special brand of Broadband Internet via Satellite, conceived and then implemented in open-standard technology, complete with Video on Demand, high-quality audio and video streams, fast internet, and email notification,” continued EOL’s President. “We would also like to thank our satellite partners, Eutelsat and BT Broadcast as well as our cable partners, Kabel Deutschland and PrimaCom, and our hardware manufacturing partners, TechniSat, Hauppauge, and TechnoTrend for their unfailing support over the years. 

“Finally, and in particular, we would like to thank our Europe Online users who with their user communities and feedback have always pushed us to excel and bring the best and most innovative Broadband via Satellite to the world,” concluded Ms. Johnson.