Our testbed network forms a single autonomous system from the view of IP routing. We are using BGP-4 routing protocol for exchanging the routing information with other neighboring autonomous systems, while OSPF is used for internal routing control. Moreover, our testbed network is a transit network to a global Internet for autonomous system which includes our partners' networks. While the C band service is very popular for satellite communications in Asia and the Pacific region, there are few calls so far for Ku band service because reception is considered weak in heavy rain. This is obviously a problem for the many tropical regions in East and South Asia that have heavy showers in rainy seasons.
Many people believe it is hard to guarantee link quality for commercial operations.
In the AI3 Phase I network, we are developing a way to apply the Ku band service to commercial Internet operations. In a four-month trial in Indonesia, this link experienced only one failure for 5 seconds. This shows that our design can meet commercial requirements for ordinary satellite links. In other words, the Ku band service can now be used for commercial Internet operation in tropical regions. This result also means more effective frequency use.