The Intelsat SPADE system - Ten years of demand assigned operation

In this paper, the Intelsat SPADE system is reexamined after 10 years of operation in the Atlantic Ocean Region. A functional description of the system is provided together with its technical evolution from the early years of development to its current maturity. Network monitoring and control, together with a summary of the SPADE System's activity from its traffic statistics and billing information are also discussed. Finally, it is shown that SPADE has fully met its original purpose and, based on the continuing high usage of the SPADE system and the availability of a new generation SPADE terminal, SPADE will continue to be an important service for many years to come.