The SOLANTE Network Operation Center (NOC) also known as Network Control Center (NCC), consisting of both software and hardware components, is responsible for direct communication with the remote stations and multiple gateway stations through the L-Band FOW/ROW channels.

Each FOW (Forward Order Wire) control channel is physically transmitted by an SNC, where the system can contain as many SNC as are necessary to support the required call request rate and remote station population. In general, each SOLANTE-SNC is capable of supporting between five and ten call requests per second.

For the ROW (Return Order Wire) control channels, a series of SOLANTE-SBD’s (burst demodulators) are used which again operate at L-Band. Typically within any given network there are more populated SBD’s than there are SNC’s.

Hardware redundancy is supported for both SNC and SBD by the simple addition of more units into the NCC rack and the same applies to the SBD’s. So both 1:1 and M:N redundancy are supported.

Although remote stations and gateway stations are assigned to a specific FOW control channel, and hence to a specific SOLANTE-SNC, call processing is performed for all stations by a centralized resource allocation processor (RAP) in the NMS. With centralized call processing, full connectivity between any two stations is supported even when source and destination stations utilize different FOW/ROW control channels.

The NCC is responsible for real-time management of the satellite resources, both bandwidth and power, and connection call control.

Responsible for COMF-TDMA DAMA processing, the NCC/NMS operates to insure the maximum number of simultaneous voice connections can be established and maintained while meeting system availability and service quality objectives. Connections are established on-demand, and only when the call can be completed. This means that the destination is available with a voice circuit open to receive the call, that the station has sufficient RF power to make the connection, and that sufficient satellite and power resources are available for the call; only if all conditions are satisfied will the NMS establish a satellite connection. Furthermore, when the call traverses both the satellite network and the public network, the satellite bandwidth is assigned only if a trunk is available to establish a circuit between the gateway and the terrestrial party.

The NCC manages satellite resources as a common, shared bandwidth pool, providing fair access to these resources. However, bandwidth can be divided into multiple partitioned bands where each band is reserved for a specific, predefined service type, user group, sub-network or gateway destination; bandwidth partitioning can be changed in real-time, by the network operator, to meet changing system needs.

The SOLANTE multi-channel can operate with any bandwidth resources available on any transponder on the satellite. Bands do not have to be contiguous, and there is no practical limit to the number of distinct bands that can be supported. An example of this flexibility is illustrated in the figure below. In this example, satellite capacity is available on portions of transponders 1, 2 and 4, with no capacity available on transponder 3.Under NCC/NMS control, stations can be assigned capacity for a connection in any of the available bandwidth on any transponder.